Thames Valley school board launches COVID tracker as officials brace for more cases
Kate Dubinski | CBC News | Posted: September 22, 2020 3:21 PM | Last Updated: September 22, 2020
The region's first school case was announced Monday at H.B. Beal Secondary School
A day after the London region recorded its first COVID-19 case in a school, the Thames Valley District School Board has launched a website that tracks cases of the coronavirus in local classrooms.
So far, the only case recorded on the website is the one at H.B. Beal Secondary School, announced Monday. Officials are not releasing details about the case but CBC News has learned it involves a student. Public health authorities say they believe the student did not go to school while symptomatic, and did not catch the virus while in school, but instead contracted COVID-19 from the community.
"A positive case at a school does not mean the individual was exposed to COVID-19 at a Thames Valley school. It is possible that they may have been exposed somewhere else in the community," the board said on its website. "The identity of the individual is protected by privacy legislation and will not be shared."
The Middlesex London Health Unit said Tuesday that approximately 15 students or staff from Beal have been contacted and are self-isolating. Both Medical Officer of Health Dr. Chris Mackie and TVDSB education director Mark Fisher visited the school Tuesday where they agreed protocols were being followed.
Most students at the school heard about the positive case after an email went out Monday afternoon alerting parents and guardians, and appeared to take the news in stride.
"My mom just told me, keep doing the normal precautions, keep making sure I wash my hands, keep my distance away from people and make sure I'm wearing a mask," said Jamie Dennis, at Grade 10 student at Beal.
"There's a lot of speculation about who it might be, people want to know roughly whose class it was in and if we've been in contact with them, but people aren't freaking out or anything."
Texts, group chats among students
As soon as they learned about the case, students started sending out group chats and texts to their friends, said student Maya Harding.
"My phone was like going off nonstop. I was actually with a friend at the time and we both got an email at the same time and we're like, 'Oh, man,'" Harding said.
"Honestly, most of us aren't surprised. It's not just like it's not real, it's just the fact that there's a lot of us here."
Students say they expect more cases and are taking precautions.
"Some people are a little bit afraid to come back to school today, but I think most of us are still going to be coming," Harding said.
And although there's a lot of speculation about who the student might be, Beal student Emerson Deagle, in Grade 12, said those that need to get tested will do so.
"I've been tested before and it came back negative, and if I need to, I'll go get tested again. It's nothing I'm too worried about too much," Deagle said.
"We're all trying to have an understanding of if we're safe or not, because if we miss a day of school, it's like missing a week because you're in class for four hours straight.