COVID-19 outbreak declared at St. Thomas Aquinas CSS in Lindsay

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April 19, 2021,

The following letter was sent to the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School community in Lindsay, informing students and families that the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the school.

 

Dear St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School students, staff and families,

We are providing an update to share that we have an additional confirmed case of COVID-19 at our school. The individuals will remain at home until the Health Unit advises them. The identity of the individuals is protected by privacy legislation and cannot be shared. The classrooms impacted have been notified with specific information regarding isolation and testing dates.

As a result of the investigation by the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit, the HKPR District Health Unit has declared an outbreak at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. 

The term ‘outbreak’ is used provincially by public health units when they believe there is evidence that at least one person could have reasonably acquired their infection within the school.  

We appreciate that this news may be concerning for our students, staff and parents. We want to assure you that we continue to work closely with the HKPR Health Unit to respond to this issue, and we continue to follow all public health and provincial guidelines to protect student and staff safety.

In terms of our school operations, we are sharing the following information:

  • HKPR will be providing us with some short-term directions.
  • We continue to implement our enhanced daily pandemic cleaning protocols, and regular disinfection of our school with the electro-static sprayer.

At this time, the HKPR District Health Unit would like to remind members of our school community (and all members of our community) to limit contact with others and remain only in close contact with household members.

All students and staff are asked to continue to self-monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19; this includes completing the daily self-assessment for symptoms which is available at https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/ 

If you or your child develop one of these symptoms, please immediately self-isolate at home, and seek testing. Please keep your child or yourself at home even if symptoms seem mild, like a common cold. As always, please remember to inform us if your child will be absent from school. 

To protect yourselves, your children and the community, the HKPR District Health Unit recommends that you physically distance from others as much as possible; stay home when sick; wear a mask when indoors, on a bus, or whenever you cannot maintain a two metre distance; clean hands often with soap and water or hand sanitizer; cough and sneeze into your sleeve; avoid touching your face; avoiding sharing personal items with others; and avoid close contact with anyone who is ill.

We continue to follow all public health recommendations to help protect student and staff safety and we will let families know of any further developments.  Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Sincerely,

 

Jonathan Di Ianni
Principal