WELLINGTON COUNTY – Six schools in the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) region, including one in Wellington County, are reporting COVID-19 cases.
On Feb. 21 public health declared an outbreak at JD Hogarth Public School in Fergus.
The WDGPH website shows one student and one staff case as part of the outbreak, but the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) was reporting four cases – all students according to province’s website – and three classrooms closed.
WDGPH spokesperson Danny Williamson did not reply to a request for clarification.
On Feb. 24, the UGDSB was also reporting student cases at four other schools:
- Sir Isaac Brock Public School in Guelph, one case, all classrooms open;
- Arbour Vista Public School in Guelph, one case, one classroom closed;
- Westwood Public School in Guelph, one case, one classroom closed; and
- Princess Elizabeth Public School in Orangeville, one case, all classrooms open.
As of Feb. 23 there were no active cases reported in the Wellington District Catholic School Board.
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board is reporting three student cases at St. Benedict Catholic Elementary School in Orangeville. The school was closed temporarily because seven teachers had to self-isolate as a precaution.
Across Ontario, 401 schools currently have active COVID-19 cases and 16 schools are closed due to outbreaks.
Locally, students returned to in-class instruction on Feb. 8 after five weeks of online learning due to the province-wide lockdown and stay-at-home order.
Since then 14 schools in the WDGPH region have reported cases of COVID-19.
Prior to the Christmas break, a total of 53 schools and five child care facilities in the region had reported cases since September.
