Image

Up to a third of students missing in small schools

September 30, 2020

Alex Kurial/Local Journalism Initiative

There were a lot of students missing from Lambton’s public school, but Director of Education John Howitt doesn’t believe there’s any cause for alarm just yet.
“I think it was the cold temperature over the weekend that brought out some traditional fall runny noses, sore throats, coughs and sneezes that appear as COVID symptoms, but don’t always test out as COVID symptoms,” Howitt says.
His comments came following a trustee question at last week’s school board meeting about a number of kids who had recently stayed home from school.
In some smaller schools up to one-third of the student population was missing.
“That was significant in some schools… many of those did go to seek a COVID test,” Howitt says. But he added that “we have not had any positive results from that testing.”
All students and staff must take a daily COVID screening test available on the Ontario government website. The test asks if someone is newly experiencing any of more than 20 possible COVID symptoms. If they answer yes to any one of these they must stay home and monitor their symptoms or take a COVID test.
Howitt says as the weather gets colder and we enter flu season increased absences are likely to continue, but people should not take this as a sign the virus is in schools.
“Unless you see it reported as a known case, then it is not a known case,” says Howitt.
“There are, and were yesterday, and were today, and will likely be tomorrow, both staff and students that will either not report to school, or have to leave school due to symptoms that they are experiencing. That does not automatically mean that COVID is present. That requires a positive test result, which there are none of currently in Lambton Kent.”
On Tuesday, there were two schools across the province closed because of COVID-19.
There have been 308 people test positive in the school setting, including 64 on Tuesday. Two hundred and fifty schools out of over 4,800 have cases of COVID-19.

Share This

Image
Front Page

Killer Bees’ Feasey to coach Maroons

July 12, 2025

Barry Wright/The Independent Alvinston Killer Bees star Brennan Feasey is the new head coach of the Sutherland Cup champion Chatham Maroons of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The new job came about after Richard Santos left the Maroons this week to become the new head coach of the U16 boys prep team with Biosteel Sports Academy in Windsor and

Read More

Image
Front Page

Still standing (with some help) after 200 years

July 12, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent When Abraham Smith and his wife, Anna Hoy, arrived on the shores of the St. Clair River, there was nothing but trees which blocked out the sun. The couple landed around what we now know as the St. Clair Parkway and Smith Line in 1820, along with two children and another family, and settled in the area.

Read More

Image
Front Page

Remembering Croton

July 12, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent Harold Snary stands under a tree in the postal village of Croton. Those standing with him see a new, siding-clad school and church, a few homes and the traffic whizzing down Oakdale Road. At the corner of Oakdale and Croton Road, they might notice the building which used to be the general store. For most, this 39-person

Read More

Image
Front Page

Lambton lands part of 30×30 project

July 11, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent Almost 700 acres of land along the Sydenham River, including some in Petrolia and Wawrick, will be recognized as conservation lands in Ontario. It’s part of an international plan to protect 30 per cent of the earth’s land and sea by 2030. Tim Payne, manager of forests for the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, was contacted by

Read More