Holy Name Catholic school closed due to virus

By Mark Pavilons
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative

King City's Holy Name Catholic Elementary School was closed due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
Parents learned of the closure Oct. 13 by the York Catholic District School Board, in conjunction with York Region Public Health.
There were five confirmed cases and one probably case in several classes and grades at the school. During the health department's investigation, it was determined some of the individuals were exposed to the virus at the school. That met the definition of a confirmed outbreak.
“The decision for the school to close and move to online learning for this period of time is not made lightly and is done out of an abundance of caution to prevent further spread of COVID-19 within the school. York Region Public Health will continue to monitor the situation closely and will work with the school and the York Catholic District School board in order to safely resume school operations,” read a letter from the school.
Holy Name has worked diligently to implement strict public health measures within the school, including physical distancing, increased hand hygiene, cohorting of classrooms, enhanced cleaning and disinfection, and the wearing of PPE.
York Public Health has followed up with all close contacts of the confirmed classes, including individuals in the cases, cohorts, and outside of the classrooms. All close contacts were advised to seek assessment and testing as soon as possible, and to self-isolate at home for the standard 14-day period.
Classroom placements were finalized ast week and parents of remote learning students who were slated to join a new classroom were contacted by teachers.