Brantford School Closed Because of COVID-19 Outbreak

Thursday, 25 February 2021 at 14:06

St. Peter Elementary in Brantford is closed after 7 COVID-19 cases were reported in 7 different cohorts, including a bus and an after school program.

BRANTFORD - The Brant County Health Unit has decided to close the St. Peter Elementary School in Brantford due to an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

As of right now, the school has 7 separate COVID-19 cases in 7 separate cohorts, including a bus and an after school program. In a press release to Heart FM, Acting Medical Officer of Health for the Brant County Health Unit Dr. Elizabeth Urbantke offered the following statement.

"When we saw spread like this, in a number of different cohorts, some with no confirmed epi-links, the decision was made to ensure that we contain any further potential spread. The cases and outbreaks in schools over the past two weeks have definitely been concerning. That said, many of our investigations have shown that a number of cases over last week can be traced back to social gatherings that occurred over the Family Day long weekend, before Brant re-entered the framework. Those cases then made their way into schools, which led to transmission in our classrooms."

Dr. Urbantke says they have noticed a trend in rising COVID-19 cases after holidays and long weekends. She is asking residents to remember that their choices matter.

"A few bad decisions can easily cause a bump in case counts like we saw last week."

The Health Unit also provided a specific COVID-19 Vaccination plan Overview today. Over the next two weeks, they will continue to vaccinate those in the immediate priority groups of Phase One, as outlined by the Province. This includes:

- Long-Term Care and/or Retirement Home Staff, support staff and essential caregivers
- Hospital and acute care staff in frontline roles with COVID-19 patients and/or with a high-risk of exposure to COVID-19
- Patient-facing health care workers involved in the COVID-19 response (e.g., Assessment centers)
- Medical first responders
- Indigenous adults (on reserve and urban communities)
- Community healthcare workers serving specialized populations