Kitchener school closes to in-person learning after COVID-19 outbreak reaches 15 cases

Southridge Public School in Kitchener has shut down to in-person learning to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

The school has been grappling with an outbreak now linked to at least 15 positive cases. The region said six classroom cohorts, one bus cohort and two meeting cohorts have been dismissed.

Earlier in the day, the region's COVID-19 dashboard showed five cases linked to the outbreak.

The school will be closed for at least 10 days starting Tuesday. Students will continue their learning online, and the school plans to distribute online learning devices to families who require thesupport.

Rapid antigen test kits will be distributed to families at the school over the holiday break.

"We are closing a school in the Waterloo Region District School Board for the first time since the return to in-class learning this fall due to concern about the potential for widespread and rapid transmission of the virus," said Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the region's medical officer of health, in a statement Monday.

Though it's a first for the public school board, this is the second school closure in the region since the return to in-class learning.

Last month, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Elementary School shut down to in-person learning amid an outbreak that saw 20 cases.Students returned to in-class learning on Monday.

Nine active outbreaks

There's a total of nine COVID-19 outbreaks in Waterloo region schools as of Monday's update from public health.

Other schooloutbreaks were at:

• Blessed Sacrament Catholic Elementary School with 20cases over multiple cohorts
• St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Elementary School in Cambridge with five cases over multiple cohorts.
• Saint John Paul II Catholic ElementarySchool in Kitchener with four cases.
• Mary Johnston Public School in Waterloo with two cases.
• Sir Adam Beck Public School in Baden with two cases.
• Forest Glen Public School in New Hamburg with two cases.
• Lester B. Pearson Public School in Waterloo with two cases.
• Cedar Creek Public School in Ayr with two cases.

There were 29 new cases of COVID-19 in children aged nine and under between Friday and Monday's update, making up 23 per cent of all new cases reported over the weekend.

125 new cases

In total, there were 125 new cases reported Monday by Region of Waterloo Public Health.

Broken down by day, there were:

• 62 cases reported on Saturday.
• 37 cases reported on Sunday.
• 26 cases reported on Monday.

There were no new deaths.

There were 282 active cases in the region. There were 12 people in the region's three hospitals infectious with the virus with two people in the intensive care unit. The region notes people in the ICU may no longer be infectious but do require ongoing care.

There were a total of 14 outbreaks. There were nine in schools, as mentioned above. The other five outbreaks were at workplaces:

• A retail store with four cases.
• A construction workplace with three cases.
• A transportation workplace with three cases.
• An auto sales workplace with two cases.
• A manufacturer with two cases.

The region's vaccination dashboard showed 75.24 per cent of all residents have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

As of Sunday, 11,622 doses of the Pfizer pediatric vaccine had been administered to children between the ages of five and 11. That's just over 26 per cent of children in that age range in the region. Children aged four and under are not yet eligible for the vaccine.