'What more could be out there?' LDCSB reacts swiftly to possible Omicron threat
The director of the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) tells CTV News London his teams reacted 'swiftly' to the threat of the Omicron variant in three schools.
Vince Romeo says his board did not learn until the mid-afternoon Monday that it potentially had the new variant in its system.
Then on Monday evening, Romeo says the Omicron threat intensified.
“It wasn’t until late last evening when we realized just how many staff and students would be affected by this news.”
Middlesex-London Health Unit officials confirmed there are probable cases of the variant in the region.
The schools impacted are St. Marguerite d’Youville in northwest London, St. Nicholas in west London and St. Mary Choir and Orchestra school in the city’s Old East Village.
All the schools will be closed for the rest of this week. Students will continue classes remotely.
Not all parents and students received the late-night communication advising them to keep their children at home.
But the mother of St. Marguerite d’Youville student Rebecca Wijkoon did receive it.
Still, she and her daughter, a Grade 5 student, walked to the school on a cold morning to get a laptop for remote learning.
Rebecca tells CTV News London older students had heard talk of something concerning in the school late Monday.
“The school closed because I heard the people are sick from the COVID.”
Rebecca Wijkoon and her mother are seen leaving St. Marguerite d'Youville Catholic Elementary School on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. The pair was picking up a laptop for at-home learning after the school was one of three closed due the potential threat of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
Romeo says a high number of potential close contacts lead to the decision to close the school.
“So in our case, it was multiple schools over multiple classrooms affecting 1,300 students and multiple staff, upwards of 50 in our case.”
In recent months, vaccinated students continued to go to school if a few cases of COVID-19 entered a school.
But with the arrival of Omicron, Romeo says the response to the virus has again changed.
“The direction in this case with the new variant is, that regardless of your vaccination status, the quarantine period applies to all students and staff. That is different than what we’ve responded to in the past.”
London District Catholic School Board Director Vince Romeo is seen during a Zoom interview with CTV News London on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021.
And now, with the response focused on the present, there is some concern about the future.
Romeo admits putting three schools into remote learning so quickly has him concerned.
“In our case, the fact that our first call affected so many students and three schools all at one time. It’s enough to give us the thought of, ‘What more could be out there and what more do we need to respond to?’”
While the plan is for the three schools to reopen next Monday, Dec. 13, Romeo admits the LDCSB may alter the dates given the evolving situation in consultation with the MLHU.
Meanwhile, the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) says that two schools have identified close contacts to possible Omicron cases.
Individuals at Princess Elizabeth Public School in London and Delaware Public School in Delaware are isolating.
The board has decided not to close those schools at this time.
- With files from CTV News London's Justin Zadorsky
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
WATCH LIVE As former prime minister Mulroney lies in state, public tributes in Ottawa begin
Members of the public who wish to pay tribute to Brian Mulroney can visit his casket in Ottawa starting this afternoon.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
DEVELOPING Canada's annual inflation rate ticked down to 2.8 per cent in February, defying expectations
Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate edged down to 2.8 per cent in February.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.