Six cases of COVID-19 identified in LDSB this week, affected schools remain open

Six cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the Limestone District School Board (LDSB) this week. One case at Rideau Public School has one class cohort and one bus cohort isolating, but the affected schools remain open, according to a release from the school board.

Case breakdown:

• One student at Rideau Public School on Sept. 30: One class cohort and one bus cohort are isolating. The school remains open.
• Four students at Kingston East Elementary School on Sept. 30: No risk to the school community and the school remains open. These cases do not constitute an outbreak as transmission did not occur at school.
• One student at Bayridge Learning Centre alternative site Sept. 28: No risk to the school community and the school remains open.

“KFL&A Public Health works closely with schools to ensure that necessary steps are taken to prevent further spread of the virus both in the school and the community,” the school board said.

In cases where it has been determined that there is no risk to students or staff, cohorts are not required to isolate and the schools will remain open. Instances when a positive case in a school poses no risk to the school include:

• The case(s) is learning or teaching virtually and has not been in the school.
• The case(s) was already isolating and not attending school because they were previously identified as a close contact of a case.
• The case(s) was not present at the school when they were infectious.

All families are asked to continue to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and screen students daily as most cases of COVID-19 are acquired in the home setting, LDSB said in the media release.

Cases in schools must be reported locally and provincially. In the interests of maintaining privacy, the board will not identify people that have received positive COVID-19 tests.

Please visit the COVID-19 Confirmed Cases webpage for a list of current cases. This is an addition of six new cases this week. There are currently 15 active cases in Limestone, however, some of those cases will be removed tomorrow and over the weekend as cases resolve, the school board stated.