Testing of asymptomatic students and staff at Thorncliffe Park Public School has led to the discovery of 19 positive cases of COVID-19 at the school.
Posted Nov 30, 2020, 05:41AM EST
Testing of asymptomatic students and staff at Thorncliffe Park Public School has led to the discovery of 19 positive cases of COVID-19 at the school.
In a letter to parents on Sunday, Principal Jeff Crane said 433 tests were conducted at the school on a voluntary basis under a Ministry of Education pilot program to test students and staff without symptoms for COVID-19.
Tests were conducted on Thursday and Friday last week and initially found 20 cases, but one has since been revealed as a false positive. A total of 18 students and 1 staff member have tested positive over two days of testing.
The Toronto District School Board tells 680 NEWS that 14 classes have been asked to self-isolate.
Crane said the school will conduct a deep cleaning of the building before school starts Monday morning. Along with other safety protocols including masks and physical distancing, Toronto Public Health has also asked siblings to stay home if one child in the household has symptoms.
“Since COVID-19 continues to spread in the community, finding additional cases in schools from broad testing is not
unexpected at this time,” said Crane.
He added that Toronto Public Health does not believe the school needs to close at this time because compared to the rest of the Thorncliffe Park community, the rate of positivity within the school is significantly lower.
The school now has a total of 21 cases of COVID-19.
