Oakville high school records highest number of COVID cases in Halton since pandemic began

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Published November 16, 2020 at 1:26 pm

The highest recorded number of COVID-19 cases at a Halton Region school since the pandemic began has been reported today.

Thomas A. Blakelock High School in Oakville has seven confirmed cases (as of Nov. 16).

While not officially classified as an outbreak, the number has sparked concern within the school community that not enough is being done to stem the tide of growing cases.

“There really isn’t a lot of information out there about how this is spreading and how they are going to stop it,” a parent told inhalton.com. “It seems like they don’t like us asking a lot of questions.”

The parent asked not to be named for fear of discipline against her child who attends the school located at 1160 Rebecca St.

“It’s especially difficult on the students who are often shut out of the information process,’ the parent said.

Generally, when there is a new case at a school an email is sent to parents and guardians informing them of the situation. It has been the practise of both the Halton District School Board and Halton Public Health not to comment about specific circumstances surrounding cases in Halton schools.

At Blakelock, it is not known if those infected with the coronavirus are students, teachers or other school personnel. However, it has led to the shutdown of three classrooms.

Currently there are 10 schools within the public system that are dealing with 19 COVID-19 cases resulting in 14 classroom shutdowns.

In the Halton Catholic District School Board, there are 12 schools that are currently handling 20 cases resulting in eight closed classrooms.

No schools in Halton have been closed due to the pandemic.

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