Multiple area schools close due to COVID-19 ahead of holiday break
Several schools have been temporarily closed due to COVID-19, including the first closure of a London high school for the current school year.
The London District Catholic School Board’s (LDCSB) website confirms that St. Andre Bessette in the city’s northwest end has been closed.
It is the result of many staff and students having to quarantine after possibly being exposed to the Omicron variant.
As of Monday there are four cases at the school and “more to come,” according to the LDCSB Director of Education Vince Romeo.
“It was because of the vast numbers of students affected and staff over multiple classrooms that we made the decision to move to remote learning for this week,” said Romeo.
Meanwhile the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) has closed Westmount Public School ahead of the winter break.
According to the board there have been several close contacts with a confirmed case of COVID-19 with potential links to the Omicron variant.
The number of close contacts has made staffing the school a challenge and therefore it will shift to online learning for the final week.
The same also goes for Caradoc Public School in Mount Brydges. It will temporarily close starting Dec 14. The school will be transitioning to virtual learning until the end of the winter break.
The TVDSB had already closed Princess Elizabeth School last Thursday for similar reasons.
The schools are expected to reopen following the holiday break on Jan. 3, 2022.
In addition, two French-language school are closed according to the Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence.
École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf and École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc are both closed.
They are the latest schools to be affected by a surge of cases in the community that has closed a number of schools.
St. Marguerite d'Youville School, St. Nicholas Catholic School and St. Mary Choir and Orchestra Catholic School were expected to reopen Monday after being closed for nearly a week.
On Monday Ontario reported 1,536 new COVID-19 cases as the positivity rate continues to climb.
- With files from CTV News London's Jennifer Basa
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.