Elementary School COVID-19 Outbreak in Lucan, Ont. ruins Halloween for more than 125 kids forced to quarantine

London, Ont. -

A COVID-19 outbreak at Wilberforce Public School in Lucan, Ont. is about to reach double-digits.

"Nine cases have been officially linked to the school," says Dr. Alex Summers, associate medical officer of health for the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU).

"We're anticipating that that number will increase slightly over the next day or two as we are investigating some additional cases at the moment.”

The outbreak couldn't have come at a worse time for the young children in the community. Sunday is Halloween, but because the kids are under the age of 12, and unvaccinated, they and their close contacts are forced to quarantine for 10 days.

"We have 130 children that in our community cannot go trick or treating," says Kelly Tait, a mom of two from Lucan who has two kids who attend Wilberforce PS.

A group of moms from sort through candy that will be given to children forced to quarantine during Halloween in Lucan, Ont. on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. (Brent Lale/CTV London)

"So a couple of moms, put a post on Facebook, and it blew up and we got lots of donations.”

The local moms received a large amount of supplies in a 48 hour span, including large donations from local businesses Cloud 9 Kids, and Foodland.

"I'm not surprised because that's Lucan," says Tarin Pestowka, who had the moms at her house Saturday sorting and bagging the candy.

"It's such a small community and we always come together for stuff like this, but we definitely weren't expecting quite as much of a turnout. It's amazing the number of messages we've received and people willing to help and drop off items.”

Because the outbreak affects unvaccinated children under 12 years old, they are required to quarantine for 10 days. Dr. Summers says the health unit believes transmission occurred both in and outside the school.

“We know that the social interactions of kids in public school is not just in the classroom," says Summers.

"We are reminding folks to keep things outdoors as much as possible and if your kid or yourself developed symptoms of COVID-19, stay home. We're working with the school board closely and there will be additional testing available to the school and their families starting early this week.”

Summers says while the region has made tremendous progress in the incident rates of COVID-19, they are "not out of the woods yet.”

"That's particularly true for people that are unvaccinated, such as those under the ages of 12," says Summers.

Tarin Pestowka of Lucan, Ont. begins to sort the massive candy donations that poured in after a Facebook post asked for donations for children forced to quarantine during Halloween on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. (Brent Lale/CTV London)

"If you have kids under the ages of 12, it doesn't mean that you have to stop all activities, but it does mean you should still trying to make sure things happen outdoors. Also try to ensure  the number of people that they are seeing is relatively small and stable, and that anybody who surrounds them who is eligible to be vaccinated, is vaccinated. The adults in these kids’ lives should be vaccinated, as it's how we protect them and reduce transmission in the community.”

Pestowka says her children have not been in close contact with the positive cases, and she was 'heart-broken' when hearing about those children who have tested positive, and the ones who have to miss the special occasion.

“We were just really concerned about all these kids that we know are unable to participate tomorrow," says Pestowka.

"We know if it was our children in the same position,  we would want someone to do the same for them. So we just thought we would put some, a few treat bags together for these kids and  help make the day a little better.”

The local moms have  arranged for drivers, and will be dropping off the bags of goodies to unsuspecting children Sunday afternoon.