Cases rising in Central Lambton schools

As the number of cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in Central Lambton schools, there are calls for more vaccines for the area.

Monday, Lambton Public Health reports 29 new cases of the virus including three more at St. Peter Canasius in Watford; 10 students are now COVID-19 positive. There has also be another case reported at LCCVI in Petrolia, bringing the total to five students there.

So far, public health is not reporting any new cases in the outbreak at Brooke Central. Students there are moving into the four day of online learning after public health closed the school for two weeks. Two of the six cases there may be linked to a variant of concern. Those variants spread the virus quicker.

A drive thru testing facility was set up over the weekend in Alvinston. Two hundred and eighty eight people were tested.

North Lambton Secondary School in Forest is also closed today. The Lambton-Kent District School Board said Sunday because of the number of people who were isolating due to COVID-19, there would not be enough teachers to safely operate in person learning. The students will be online this week.

In all, there are now 19 schools in Lambton who have students or staff with COVID-19.

There are also five outbreaks in long term care homes, including Meadowview Villa in Petrolia. Seven staff are ill there. Staff of long term care and retirement homes are being vaccinated now.

Provincial officials reported Monday there were over 1,200 people diagnosed with COVID-19 across the province.

Meantime, Sarnia’s mayor has written to Premier Doug Ford saying if the province decides to lockdown a community because of COVID-19, officials should automatically start sending more vaccines to help deal with the problem.

Lambton moved into the grey-lockdown part of the government’s reopening framework Monday. It closes restaurants to eat in customers, gyms, arenas and personal services. Retail outlets can have 25 per cent of the capacity in their stores and 50 per cent in grocery stores. Churches may now have 15 per cent of the capacity in a service at a time.