Three new cases of COVID-19 prompt Kingston school closure

The Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board (ALCDSB) has announced three new cases of COVID-19 at one of its schools in Kingston, prompting its temporary closure.

The school board made the announcement on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, disclosing that the multiple cases were associated with Our Lady Of Lourdes Catholic School, on Cranbrook St.

“This is not considered an outbreak, due to the contact scenario though three classroom cohorts are impacted,” said school principal Stacey Porter-Eves and Director of Education David Desantis in a release.

KFL&A Public Health’s criteria for declaring an outbreak within a school includes the confirmation of at least two lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in staff or students reported within a 14 day period, where at least one of those cases has a clear link to being acquired within the school (e.g., a known exposure in the school setting or no obvious source of infection outside of the school setting).

The school board did not identify whether the concurrent cases involved students, staff, or both, but did indicate that the new cases would prompt a temporary closure at the school.

“The implications of this scenario have made it necessary to temporarily reassign all staff and students to home for Monday, Nov. 9 and Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020 to allow for more time to reorganize and replace impacted staff,” said the school board.

While the school will be closed for at least those two days, the expected length of the closure and the alternate education plans for affected students has not yet been released.

More to come.