TVDSB: Grace period for student athletes to get vaccinated
The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) is temporarily relaxing COVID-19 vaccination protocols for extracurricular activities.
Originally, the board had required all teachers, coaches, students, officials and volunteers involved in student athletics to be double-vaccinated.
Now, high school students will be allowed to join extracurricular activities two weeks after their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, as long as they complete daily COVID-19 screening and take a rapid test twice a week on Sunday and Wednesday.
In a statement, the board says they consulted with local health units and made the decision "in recognition of the importance of extracurricular activities on the mental and physical well-being of students."
The new measures will remain in effect until the end of October. Once a student has their second vaccination, they no longer need to undergo the twice-weekly testing.
All students must still be double-vaccinated by Nov. 1 if they want to continue to participate in extracurricular activities for the remainder of the school year.
CTV News London has learned some coaches across the board have quit due to this change, because they originally thought they would only be coaching double-vaccinated kids and now that's no longer the case.
However, student athletes like quarterback Brady Lidster are welcoming the decision, after saying there wasn't enough notice of the vaccine mandate.
The university football prospect was facing losing the season as he had not yet begun the process of getting vaccinated.
Lidster shared his story with CTV News London, saying he was going to get his shot, but hoped for an amended policy so he could play sooner.
Additional protocols for music instruction at the elementary and post-secondary levels were also released Friday.
- With files from CTV News London's Brent Lale
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
Man accused of killing two children at Quebec daycare to stand trial in April 2025
The man accused of murdering two children and injuring six others after a city bus crashed into a Montreal-area daycare is scheduled to stand trial over five weeks beginning in April 2025.