An individual at Port Colborne High School has tested positive for COVID-19.
The person has not been identified publically by name. Even though the infection poses a high risk to the public and school communities, as a policy the Niagara Regional Public Health refuses to identify the individual. They also do not identify whether they are student or staff member citing privacy reasons. The District School Board of Niagara chooses to follow the NRPH privacy policy.
A case was also confirmed at Martha Cullimore Public School, in Niagara Falls on Friday. As per NRPH policy, the identity of the individual has not been identified either.
Two classrooms have been closed at Port Colborne High School and one classroom has been closed at Martha Cullimore Public School.
Students and staff who had close contact with the individuals are being contacted and told by Niagara Regional Public Health to stay home and self-isolate, the school board reported.
DSBN said custodians will complete a thorough cleaning of both schools. A public health inspector and a NRPH public health nurse are expected to visit the schools to complete a comprehensive assessment.
COVID-19 in Niagara schools
The DSBN is currently reporting 22 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 19 of its schools, with seven closed classrooms and 18 resolved cases. All DSBN schools are open.
Niagara Catholic is reporting 34 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 8 active and 26 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 | 2 | 2 | Open | 1 | |
| E.I. McCulley Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Ferndale Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Glynn A Green Public School | Pelham | 0 | 1 | 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 | |
| Martha Cullimore Public School | Niagara Falls | 1 | 1 | Open | 0 | |
| Park Public School | Grimsby | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Port Colborne High School | Port Colborne | 1 | 2 | Open | 0 | |
| Port Weller Public School | St. Catharines | 1 | 0 | Open | 1 | |
| Prince Philip French Immersion Public School | Niagara Falls | 2 | 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 | 0 | 2 | Open |
| Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School | St. Catharines | 0 | 2 | Open |
| Lakeshore Catholic High School | Port Colborne | 0 | 1 | Open |
| Mary Ward Catholic Elementary School | Niagara Falls | 0 | 1 | Open |
| Notre Dame College School | Welland | 0 | 1 | Open |
| Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Elementary School | Niagara Falls | 0 | 3 | Open |
| St. Alfred Catholic Elementary School | St. Catharines | 0 | 2 | Open |
| St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School | Welland | 0 | 1 | Open |
| St. Charlies Catholic Elementary School | Thorold | 0 | 1 | Open |
| St. James Catholic Elementary School | St. Catharines | 0 | 2 | Open |
| St. Martin Catholic Elementary School | Smithville | 8 | 1 | Open |
| St. Mary Catholic Elementary School | Niagara Falls | 0 | 2 | 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 | 0 | 1 | Open |
| 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).
