'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
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.