THUNDER BAY — The Thunder Bay area has its first reported case of a student testing positive for COVID-19.
The case involves a student in a primary grade (Grades 1 to 3) who attends Ecole Gron Morgan Public School on Marlborough Street.
It will not require the closure of the entire school, however Lakehead Public Schools issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon saying the student's cohort/class has been closed for a 14-day quarantine period.
"At this time, there is no evidence of spread to anyone else within the school setting," the statement said.
Individuals in the same class or cohort are considered "close contacts."
Their parents were contacted by the school Wednesday and advised to pick up their children.
These families will also be contacted directly by a public health nurse and given instructions about steps they need to take.
TBDHU nurses were at Ecole Gron Morgan to assess the situation and determine if any others, including students, staff and visitors, may have been exposed to the virus.
Any additional potential contacts will hear directly from a public health nurse.
TBDHU will also follow up on contacts outside the school setting, as required.
Anyone identified as a close contact will be required to stay home and not return to the school until cleared by the health unit.
The board said that, at this time, everyone else in the Gron Morgan community who is not specifically contacted by public health would be considered at low risk, and not in need of testing.
TBDHU reported the 106th confirmed COVID-19 case in the district on Wednesday afternoon.
It's unknown if this is a reference to the Gron Morgan case, however.
A TBDHU post said the individual is self-isolating.
It also indicated the episode date was September 17.
"Episode date" corresponds to the earliest date reported according to the following order: symptom onset date, specimen collection date, lab testing date, date reported to TBDHU.
The health unit's post did not indicate the individual's gender or age, in a departure from its earlier practice. The information will be provided to the provincial COVID-19 database.
To date, 153 of Ontario's 4,828 schools have reported COVID-19 confirmed cases.
Only two schools were listed on a provincial government website Wednesday as having been closed because of COVID-19 cases.
The website also outlines the protocol for closing classes or schools:
Closing classes or schools
If the local public health unit declares an outbreak, they will determine what happens next. This could include closing classrooms, cohorts or an entire school.
If an outbreak is declared in a school, the public health unit will help determine which groups of students need to be sent home or if a partial or full school closure is required.
Declaring an outbreak
An outbreak may be declared by the local public health unit when:
- within a 14-day period, there are two or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in students, staff or other visitors with an epidemiological link (for example, if cases are in the same class or cohort)
- at least one case could have been infected in the school (including on a school bus or in before or after school care)
