COVID-19 outbreak declared at St. Eugene Catholic Elementary School in Hamilton
Hamilton's Catholic school board is dealing with 3 outbreaks, while the public board is managing 1
The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board is dealing with its third COVID-19 outbreak after declaring one at St. Eugene Catholic Elementary School on Tuesday.
That's four outbreaks in Hamilton schools in one week.
St. Eugene has had three cases of the virus, the most recent being announced Tuesday evening after a staff member was infected.
A letter to families states the person was last in the school on Friday, Feb. 19.
"Any students, staff or cohorts that are required to quarantine will be notified immediately by the school and will be contacted by Hamilton Public Health Services (HPHS) within the next two days," principal Linda Spadafora said in a letter.
In a separate letter, the principal wrote: "The outbreak is related to the group currently in quarantine. Persons who test positive for COVID-19 may not return to school until they are cleared by HPHS."
Two classes at the school are closed.
The other outbreaks include:
- St. Ann Catholic Elementary School with three cases and two closed classrooms.
- St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Elementary School with nine cases and a closed school.
- A.M. Cunningham Elementary School with two cases.
There's also one outbreak that is associated to a school — the outbreak at the Umbrella Family Child Care Centre at Cathy Wever Elementary School with two cases.
Local school boards have been doing targeted testing to find any cases in asymptomatic people who are isolating.
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board reported two new cases throughout its schools Wednesday, only one of which exposed others. An Eastdale Elementary School student tested positive for COVID-19.