COVID-19 outbreak declared at St. Marguerite d'Youville Catholic Elementary School

Hamilton's Catholic school board has an outbreak at St. Marguerite d'Youville Catholic Elementary School.

The city issued a release Wednesday morning saying that there are at least two or more lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases that appear to be linked because to the school.

The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board says two students at the school are infected. A classroom has closed.

The first student was last in school on Friday, Oct. 23 and the positive test result came on Sunday.

The second student is in the same cohort. That student was last in school on Friday as well and tested positive late Tuesday.

"As part of COVID-19 case management and infection control measures, students/teachers in the same classroom as the COVID positive individual will be required to self-isolate for 14 days. Persons who test positive may not return to school until they are cleared by public health," reads a message from the school principal to parents.

Public health is responsible for contact tracing while the board is responsible for cleaning the building.

At St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School, a sixth student has tested positive. The student was last in the school on Tuesday, Oct. 13 and got a positive test result on Oct. 27. 

That student had no school-related close contacts, so there's no risk to the school, says a letter to the community. 

A student at Cathedral High School has also tested positive. The student was last in the school on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and public health confirmed the positive test late Monday afternoon. There is no risk to the school. 

An adult learner at the St. Charles Adult and Continuing Education Centre on Young Street has also tested positive for COVID-19. A letter to the community says the person was last in the centre on Friday, Oct. 23

Anyone who is required to self-isolate will be contacted directly by public health, the letter says. 

In the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, a student at Tiffany Hills Elementary School was confirmed as testing positive on Sunday. They were last in the school on Thursday. Two other students there also recently tested positive. 

There are 169 active cases of the virus in Hamilton. Forty-eight people have died, and 1,521 people have recovered. 

Fortinos employee tests positive

A worker at the Fortinos on Hamilton Mountain has also tested positive for the virus.

The Fortinos is located at 1550 Upper James St. 

The worker was last at the store on Oct. 24, according to the online database of the parent company, Loblaw. 

Brant

Brant County Public Health reported one new case of COVID-19 since Tuesday, bringing the number of active cases to 25. The county has seen 248 confirmed causes, with 213 of them resolved. Two people are in hospital.

Five people with COVID-19 have died.

Halton

Public health officials in Halton reported 35 new cases in the region on Wednesday. There have been 2,090 since the pandemic began. 

Of those cases, 233 are active, and 1,824 are resolved. Two more people have died since Monday for a total of 31. 

There are six open outbreaks.

In Burlington, there are 67 active cases, 13 deaths and 512 recovered cases.

There is one active student case at Brant Hills Public School in Burlington, which affects one class. It is scheduled to be removed from the database on Friday, Oct. 30, said the school board's spokesperson. 

There is also a positive case at Assumption Catholic Secondary School. Two classrooms have been closed, according to the Halton Catholic District School Board's online database. 

Haldimand-Norfolk

There have eight new cases in Haldimand and Norfolk counties, bringing the total to 534 cases according to public health data. Of those, 31 were active on Wednesday and 466 recovered.

Thirty-two deaths in the counties are considered COVID-19-related.

In the Grand Erie District School Board, someone at McKinnon Park Secondary School in Caledonia tested positive on Sunday. Public health is contacting any students, staff and families who are deemed to be close contacts and telling them to self-isolate. 

Niagara

Statistics for Niagara show the region has seen 19 new cases of COVID-19 since Monday. There have been 1,370   infections reported by public health as of Wednesday, including 1,206 that are resolved.

There are 95 active cases in the region and eight outbreaks are ongoing.

One more person has died since Monday, increasing the total amount of deaths to 69. 

Saint Michael Catholic High School in Niagara Falls has one active case. The Niagara Catholic District School Board was advised of it on Monday. The person hasn't been in the school since Oct. 13, and can return to the school on Friday, said a spokesperson for the board.