A COVID-19 case has been reported at Valley Way Public School in Niagara Falls. A case at a Catholic elementary school in Niagara Falls was also reported yesterday.
One classroom has been closed at Valley Way Public School, but the school remains open.
“Custodians will complete a thorough cleaning of the school this evening. A Public Health Inspector and a Public Health Nurse from NRPH will visit the school to complete a comprehensive assessment. The preventative COVID-19 practices that Valley Way has been following since the beginning of school, such as wearing PPE, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and doing the daily health screening, will continue,” said a District School Board of Niagara advisory.
There was also a new COVID infection at Saint Michael Catholic High School in Niagara Falls. The individual has not been at school since Sept. 22 and is currently self-isolating. Niagara Public Health determined there is no risk of transmission to other members of the school, a Niagara Catholic advisory said.
For privacy reasons, the identities of the infected individuals are not shared by NPRH or the school board.
NRPH will contact students at the affected school if they need to self isolate.
Anyone with questions about COVID-19 are encouraged to call Niagara Region Public Health for assistance from a Public Health Nurse on the COVID-19 Info-Line. It is staffed Monday to Friday, 9:15 a.m. – 8:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 9:15 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. at 905-688-8248 or toll-free at 1-888-505-6074.
COVID-19 in Niagara schools
The DSBN is currently reporting nine confirmed cases of COVID-19 in seven of its schools, with 13 closed classrooms. All DSBN schools are open.
Niagara Catholic is reporting eight confirmed cases of COVID-19, with five active and three resolved, in six of its schools. All Niagara Catholic schools are open.
COVID-19 in West Niagara schools
There is one COVID-19 case reported at Valley Way Public School, a DSBN school, in Niagara Falls.
Detailed data as follows for each school board :
District School Board of Niagara
| School | Location | Cases | Closed Classrooms | School Status |
| Eden High School | St. Catharines | 1 | 1 | Open |
| Ferndale Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 3 | Open |
| Park Public School | Grimsby | 1 | 1 | Open |
| Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School | St. Catharines | 1 | 1 | Open |
| Valley Way Public School | Niagara Falls | 1 | 1 | Open |
| Welland Eastdale Secondary School | Welland | 3 | 5 | Open |
| William Hamilton Merritt Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 1 | Open |
Niagara Catholic School Board
| School | Location | Active Cases | Resolved Cases | Closure Status |
| Canadian Martyrs Catholic Elementary School | St. Catharines | 0 | 1 | Open |
| Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School | St. Catharines | 0 | 1 | Open |
| Mary Ward Catholic Elementary School | Niagara Falls | 0 | 1 | Open |
| Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Elementary School | Niagara Falls | 3 | 0 | Open |
| St. Michael Catholic High School | Niagara Falls | 0 | 0 | Open |
| St. Alfred Catholic Elementary School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open |
| St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Elementary School | Niagara Falls | 1 | 0 | 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).