Two COVID-19 cases at Rideau Public School, one at Rideau Heights Public School
On Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, KFL&A Public Health confirmed that two students at Rideau Public School, located at 9 Dundas Street in Kingston, have tested positive for COVID-19. According to a notification from the Limestone District School Board (LDSB), the students are isolating at home and following directives from KFL&A Public Health. The school board says that, in the interests of maintaining privacy, it will not identify the individuals who have received positive COVID-19 tests.
The two cases have not been declared an outbreak at this time. “Affected members of the school community have been notified,” the school board confirmed. “One class cohort and one bus cohort have been dismissed and are following direction from public health. One case was already isolating and poses no risk to the school community. At this time, the school remains open.”
The school and board say they are working with KFL&A Public Health to identify cohorts of students, staff and others who may have been in close contact with the COVID-19 positive individual at the school. “Not all students or staff will be affected by a positive case. A positive case at a school does not mean the individual was exposed to COVID-19 at the school. They may have been exposed somewhere else in the community or outside of the KFL&A region,” LDSB explained.
According to LDSB, the school will clean and disinfect all areas where the individual may have been, and will work with KFL&A Public Health to develop a plan to protect all members of the school community to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“KFL&A Public Health, the school and board are taking all necessary steps to prevent further spread of the virus both in the schools and the community. As always, the health and safety of students, staff and the school community remain our priority,” LDSB said in the advisory.
On the same day, LDSB also identified one additional case of COVID-19 at the similarly-named but separate Rideau Heights Public School. This time, the COVID-19 case was a staff member. As a result, one additional class is isolating. The additional case brings the current number of COVID-19 cases at that school to seven, though an outbreak has not been declared due to the specific circumstances of how those cases were acquired. Two classes at Rideau Heights Public School are now isolating and the school remains open. There are currently 28 active COVID-19 cases associated with the LDSB.