A recent outbreak of Covid-19 cases at St. Marie of the Incarnation Catholic School in Bradford has parents outraged, over what they say is a delayed response by the Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) in notifying families.
“I’m exhausted from all this and the inconsistencies from the health board,” shared one local mother, Gabriela (last name has been removed due to privacy concerns), whose two children are currently home from the school and awaiting Covid-19 test results. “None of it makes any sense!”
Gabriela received an email on Oct. 4 from the Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit, stating that a positive case of the Covid-19 virus had been confirmed in her daughter’s class. The grade one classroom was shut down immediately and all children – including Gabriela’s daughter – were sent home to quarantine for 10 days.
Her son, who is in grade five, was also sent home to quarantine - not because of a case within his class, but rather a positive case on the bus he takes to and from school everyday.
Gabriela claims she was not notified of the positive Covid case from her son’s bus until almost 10 days after it was reported originally to the health unit. She states this is the second time a positive case of Covid has been identified on his bus since school began.
“We had a case almost a week and a half after school started,” shares Gabriela. “When the (students) were finishing their quarantine period, that’s when we found out about the case, which is ridiculous to me.”
Many parents whose children attend the Catholic school took to social media to air their shock and confusion this week, as more and more students tested positive for the virus.
"We received the email (on Oct. 4) stating both morning and afternoon bus had a positive case from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1 and my son had close contact," explained one Bradford mom Sherri (she declined to provide her last name). "The health unit called and left a voicemail for my emergency contact, they did not call me at all which is very concerning. It's also concerning we're just finding out on the 4th for a positive case since the 27th of September."
"Additionally, my other mom friend said she received an email on Sept. 10... stating there was a positive case on our bus, the same bus my son takes - we did not receive the email," she added.
To date, there are 18 active Covid-19 cases at St. Marie of the Incarnation in Bradford and seven classroom closures. Yet, the school remains open despite parents advocating it should be closed.
On social media, many parents blamed a lack of separation during recess as the cause of the spread of the virus. However, the SMDHU and SMCDSB indicated in a letter sent to parents last night that the outbreak was not linked to recess, and that just this past Monday, the school principal did implement structured outdoor learning with the classroom teachers in lieu of recess, as a strategy to reduce cohort contact during this outbreak.
"We certainly understand and empathize with how families are feeling right now - anytime an outbreak is declared at a school it is natural for parents, staff and students to be concerned and want assurances that everything possible is being done to ensure a safe environment at the school," stated Lonnie Bolton, Superintendent of Student Services and COVID Lead with the SMCDSB. "We want families to know that the school and the board must take their direction from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit - they are the medical experts and they have been navigating situations such as this for well over a year. At this point, the health unit is working to slow and stop transmission through student exclusions, classroom closures and other mitigating strategies at the school."
St. Marie of the Incarnation is a large Catholic school with more than 830 students. Although Bradford West Gwillimbury has been deemed a COVID "hot spot" by the provincial government in the past, the SMDHU stated the occurrence of 15 student cases is "low" based on the overall school population, and indicated there is no need to close down the school at this point in time.
"While any incident of Covid-19 is concerning... it is important to remember that aside from four school outbreaks, the transmission of COVID-19 in schools and child care facilities in Simcoe-Muskoka has been low," read part of a statement regarding the outbreak at St. Marie, from Dr. Colin Lee, SMDHU associate medical officer of health. "This speaks to the importance of continued use of public health measures, including daily screening, masking, hand hygiene/respiratory etiquette, physical distancing where possible, and frequent cleaning and disinfection within schools."
The SMCDSB's letter to parents indicated that at least 40 families had opted out of receiving emails from the school board which may have contributed to the lack of Covid-19 communication. The school indicated they would be reaching out to those families to be reinstated if they choose, and added that if a student had come in close contact with a positive Covid-19 case, a follow-up phone call from the school would have also followed the email.
Some parents are still questioning the delays from the health unit, and blame the delays for the continuing rise in case numbers continue to soar.
“If the school knows there is a case, it would be great if they could tell us right away,” said Gabriela.
The SMDHU indicates that they continue to investigate and monitor Covid-19 cases "as quickly as possible" and that schools and childcare facilities are among the highest priorities.
"There can be delays that occur at different levels throughout the investigation despite everyone’s best efforts," read part of Dr. Lee's statement. "For instance a delay could occur at any point from the time a student falls ill, is able to get tested and receives a positive result, to when an affected class or bus cohort is notified of an exposure."
Lee also confirmed two of the total cases have unknown epidemiological links.
"However, we know that the remaining cases acquired the infection from either their class or bus cohort or from a contact outside the school, such as a household member. With affected cohorts being kept home from school and given that currently there is no cohort mixing, we believe the risk to students attending school is low," he said.
The SMDHU continues to work closely with the Catholic school board partners and childcare operators to investigate and monitor COVID-19 cases and outbreaks, including the situation at St. Marie of the Incarnation. Parents were urged to be vigilant and implement preventative strategies, especially during this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend.
Not all parents are reassured by the statements..
"I hope the health unit and school can get this under control because if this is what we're looking at for the school year, changing schools doesn't look so bad," notes Sherri.
Gabriela adds, “I think the teachers are doing a great job. They’re getting the same notifications we are… but it all comes down to the health board."
Editor's Note - This story was updated at 4:04 p.m. on Friday Oct. 9, removing the last name of Gabriela due to privacy concerns.
