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One in three public schools in Toronto have an active case of COVID-19 – more than twice the provincial average touted by the Ontario Minister of Education as it promotes the government’s school safety strategy and the picture worsens in other committees in hot spots of the pandemic.
In the Toronto public council, 35% of schools, about 206 facilities, have at least one student or staff member who is reported to be actively sick with COVID-19. Of Toronto’s Catholic schools, 40% – or 79 institutions – have active cases. In Brampton, 48 percent of all schools, both public and Catholic, have active cases.
Toronto and Peel are on lockdown, so it’s no surprise they have more cases than the provincial average, but the premier admitted it’s troubling.
“It is definitely raising the alarm,” Premier Doug Ford said at a news conference Tuesday.
The government has always said that it is safer for students to be in school and that the priority is to keep them open. It has never been said that cases in the blocked regions are significantly higher than the provincial average, which is 14.6%. Currently four schools are closed due to outbreaks.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce was in parliament on Monday and insisted the schools were safe.
“Parents want facts. Here’s a fact that I think would instill a level of confidence: if they knew that 99.95% of students are COVID-19 free, that 99.92% of staff are COVID-19 free, that 99.7% of the staff have never had COVID-19, ”Lecce said. “Our leadership in public health and our school boards are working together to flatten this curve, to reduce risk and to keep our children safe, and that’s a good thing we should celebrate in this province.”
In Brampton, 61 public schools and 28 Catholic schools report 122 and 89 cases respectively. In the public council, 51 schools beyond Brampton are reporting another 78 cases. Of these, 46 schools are in Mississauga, four in Caledon and one in Bolton.
In the Dufferin-Peel Catholic council, 37 schools outside Brampton report a total of 61 cases. All but one of these schools are in Mississauga, with the only other location in Caledon.
Brampton’s percentage of schools with active COVID-19 cases outweighs the proportion in his school boards overall.
The rate in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board, which includes Mississauga, Caledon, Bolton, and Orangeville, is 43 percent, with a total of 65 of its 151 elementary and secondary schools reporting active cases. In Peel’s public council, which serves Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon, the rate is 44%, or 112 of the 257 schools.
CityNews used the latest information published on the websites of all the boards to compile this data.
The premier said today not to minimize the cases in schools: “the numbers don’t lie, they are out there”.
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has said multiple times that it’s important to keep schools open for children’s mental health, and while students and staff are bringing COVID-19 into schools, it’s not spread within them. Provincial Minister of Health Christine Elliott echoed that today, adding that she would reassess the situation if necessary.
“If circumstances change and there is a huge increase in the number of cases in schools, we may have to take another look at this,” Elliott said.
Ontario has begun distributing rapid tests in long-term care homes and rural communities. Ford called it a game changer and suggested that if schools needed testing, it could happen. University of Toronto epidemiologist Colin Furness says he doesn’t believe schools should close, but says those inside should be tested regularly.
“We should do surveillance tests extensively in the province, we should have done it since April. By surveillance tests, I mean that people who come to the hospital looking sick don’t get tested, they are diagnostic tests. Surveillance testing means going to test people at risk, “he explained.
“We should test teachers because they are also in high-risk positions, and if you want to know what’s going on with COVID in schools, test teachers,” he added, “But Ontario has been very adamant not to do surveillance tests. . We are not trying to control the broadcast with tests, we are checking with blocks. I think it’s a shame. “
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