Niagara Region Public Health has declared an outbreak at St. Martin Catholic Elementary School in Smithville, following a second confirmed case of COVID-19 at the school.
The first case was identified last week on Nov.13. The West Lincoln school was notified of the second case Thursday. A school outbreak is defined as two or more lab-confirmed cases that in a school with an epidemiological link within a 14-day period.
With this second case, the outbreak threshold has been met, said a Niagara Catholic alert. The person involved is currently self-isolating as part of the previous exposure. Niagara Region Public Health is contacting anyone connected to this individual’s case to advise that they are required to remain in self-isolation and follow the guidance provided.
Niagara Catholic said it advises all contacts to follow the recommendations of Niagara Region Public Health.
COVID-19 in Niagara schools
The DSBN is currently reporting 18 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 16 of its schools, with three closed classrooms. All DSBN schools are open.
Niagara Catholic is reporting 26 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with nine active and 17 resolved, in 17 of its schools. All Niagara Catholic schools are open.
COVID-19 in West Niagara schools
Detailed data as follows for each school board :
District School Board of Niagara
| School | Location | Cases | Closed Classrooms | School Status | Resolved Cases | |
| Dalewood French Immersion Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Eden High School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| E.I. McCulley Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 1 | Open | 1 | |
| Ferndale Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Governor Simcoe | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Grimsby Secondary School | Grimsby | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Lincoln Centennial Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Park Public School | Grimsby | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Port Weller Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Prince Philip French Immersion Public School | Niagara Falls | 1 | 1 | Open | 0 | |
| Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Stevensville Public School | Stevensville (Fort Erie) | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Valley Way Public School | Niagara Falls | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Welland Eastdale Secondary School | Welland | 3 | 0 | Open | 3 | |
| Westdale Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 1 | Open | 1 | |
| William Hamilton Merritt Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 |
Niagara Catholic School Board
| School | Location | Active Cases | Resolved Cases | Closure Status |
| Blessed Trinity Catholic Secondary School | Grimsby | 0 | 1 | Open |
| Canadian Martyrs Catholic Elementary School | St. Catharines | 1 | 1 | Open |
| Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School | St. Catharines | 0 | 2 | Open |
| Lakeshore Catholic High School | Port Colborne | 1 | 0 | Open |
| Mary Ward Catholic Elementary School | Niagara Falls | 0 | 1 | Open |
| Notre Dame College School | Welland | 1 | 0 | Open |
| Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Elementary School | Niagara Falls | 0 | 3 | Open |
| St. Alfred Catholic Elementary School | St. Catharines | 1 | 1 | Open |
| St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School | Welland | 0 | 1 | Open |
| St. Charlies Catholic Elementary School | Thorold | 1 | 0 | |
| St. James Catholic Elementary School | St. Catharines | 2 | 0 | Open |
| St. Martin Catholic Elementary School | Smithville | 2 | 0 | Open |
| St. Mary Catholic Elementary School | Niagara Falls | 2 | 0 | Open |
| St. Michael Catholic High School | Niagara Falls | 0 | 3 | Open |
| St. Paul Catholic High School | Niagara Falls | 0 | 1 | Open |
| St. Theresa Catholic Elementary School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | |
| St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Elementary School | Niagara Falls | 0 | 1 | Open |
School Board COVID-19 Online Trackers
Both Niagara school boards have online COVID-19 trackers that set out school data that parents can access online.
The District School Board of Niagara launched its tracker page at: https://www.dsbn.org/covid-19-information/covid-19-public-advisory.
It publishes a table of its schools listed alphabetically and tracks the “date of confirmed positive test” along with confirmed cases in each school, closed classrooms, and school closure status.
For example, the first DSBN school to register a COVID-19 case was Eastdale Secondary School in Welland. It shows the latest test date of Sept 18, 2020. It shows three cases and five closed classrooms.
The boards do not report who was infected, or whether the case relates to a student or staff member.
Niagara Catholic District School Board also launched its COVID-19 school tracker page at: https://niagaracatholic.ca/covid-19-advisories/
It specifies in a table the schools, active cases, resolved cases, Closure Status, (open or closed).