COVID-19 school closures extend to entire Avalon; City of St. John's confirms 2 cases among staff
29 more schools added to list of those moving to online learning
The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District has closed all schools on the Avalon Peninsula due to COVID-19, adding 29 more schools to the list of those that will move to online learning.
The move is just one of the new restrictions rippling out from a massive COVID-19 outbreak in the St. John's area.
Staff with the Avalon schools — except those ordered to self-isolate — will still be working on site, as they must prepare online classes, the school district said in a statement released just after midnight Friday.
Those classes will begin Monday for intermediate and high school grades, and on Tuesday for primary and elementary students.
The district said the closure will be in effect until Feb. 26.
St. John's-area schools closed over the course of a few days earlier in the week, with the bulk of new COVID-19 infections announced Thursday affecting people under the age of 20. Four schools in the region have confirmed positive cases.
Revised list to include <a href="https://twitter.com/FatimaAcademy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FatimaAcademy</a> <a href="https://t.co/56mEFsD7kV">pic.twitter.com/56mEFsD7kV</a>
—@NLESDCAMeanwhile, the City of St. John's has confirmed two cases among its staff: one at city hall and another at the municipal depot. A number of city employees are self-isolating as a result of contact tracing, reads a release from the city Friday morning.
"It is important to note that no employees impacted by the current wave of cases has had direct contact with the public in any of our facilities," reads the release.
The city added that its programs have been reduced and, where possible, arrangements have been made for staff to work from home. The city asks residents to be patient while it tries to deliver modified services amid the region's outbreak.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald on Thursday announced 100 new cases, a grim milestone marking the largest single-day count in the province's pandemic experience thus far, as well as new measures for youths in grades 7 to 12 and those who may have interacted with that age group.
"Given the large number of students identified for self-isolation [Thursday] in schools on the Avalon, the district is making this decision, with the support of public health, in the best interests of student learning and safety," said district CEO Tony Stack in the statement.
There are plans being made to offer in-school learning for some students who require it.
CNA campuses close; Metrobus service reduced
Two more College of the North Atlantic campuses, in Carbonear and Placentia, are also moving online as of Monday. Those campuses follow the three in the St. John's area — Seal Cove, Ridge Road and Prince Philip Drive — that closed on Thursday.
All five of those campuses will move classes online, starting Monday and lasting until March 8. Students are able to collect essential items on Friday. Only essential CNA staff will continue to work on campus, with all others ordered to work from home.
Meanwhile, Metrobus is reducing its schedule in metro St. John's as of Monday.
"Essentially, we will be operating on a summer schedule," said a notice on the transit agency's website.
Route 26 will also not operate, and some routes end one hour earlier from Monday through Saturday.
Anyone asked to self-isolate, or has symptoms, should not ride the bus.
