A look at the local numbers in our districts …
Public Health Sudbury & Districts has declared COVID-19 outbreaks at Lasalle Secondary School and Cyril Varney Public School of the Rainbow District School Board in Greater Sudbury.
This follows the dismissal of all students and staff at both schools on Thursday.
The ongoing investigation has identified four additional cases at Lasalle Secondary School for a total of six and two more at Cyril Varney Public School for a total of three
The health agency has also declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the Walford Sudbury retirement home following the report of one case of COVID-19 in a staff member.
The health unit is also reporting a COVID-19-related death in Greater Sudbury.
The individual was linked to the outbreak at Health Sciences North.
Sagamok keeping EHS students at home
A positive case of COVID-19 in a staff member at Espanola High School rerouted Sagamok-Anishnawbek First Nation school buses back home yesterday morning.
Local education staff says as a precautionary measure for the health and safety of local families, and as discussed with the high school principal, Kristina Rivard-Gobbo the students will not be returning to class until next Wednesday.
In the interim students will move from in-class to online learning.
The Adult Learning Centre is also open for students who require assistance.
A staff member tested positive for the virus and three classes, one at Espanola High and two in Sudbury are now self-isolating until next week.
A look at the local COVID-19 numbers for Thursday
Algoma Public Health is reporting one new case of COVID-19 from Elliot Lake and area.
The person is in self-isolation.
Considering resolved cases, the Algoma District has four active cases of which two individuals are in hospital.
Public Health Sudbury & Districts report five new cases, three in Greater Sudbury and two in the Sudbury District.
The sources are unknown.
The agency has advised the Sudbury Catholic District School Board confirmed a case of COVID-19 has been reported at St. Charles School.
One Grade 12 class has been dismissed up until and including March 9th.
Three classes, one at Espanola High School and two at Sudbury’s Jean Hanson Public School and Lockerby Composite School are self-isolating following a positive case with one staff member who travelled to the three schools.
Health Sciences North is eight admitted patients, four confirmed as positive, four others waiting for test results.
There are no patients in intensive care.
These numbers reflect tabulations from Thursday.
The new variants …
New modelling data released by the provincial government shows that the more-infectious “variants of concern” could make up 40 per cent of COVID-19 diagnoses by the second week of March.
That’s an increase from the 20 percent now being recorded.
The predictions say we could see as many as four-thousand new cases a day by the end of next month as the variants spread further the most likely scenario sets the number at 25-hundred per day.
There were just over 11-hundred COVID-19 diagnoses reported in our province yesterday.
Health experts say the next couple of months could be the most dangerous time we’ve faced yet … walking a thin line between protecting people from infection, and accelerating vaccinations as more supplies arrive in the province.
Vaccination vacation …
The man in charge of investing the billions of dollars we contribute to the Canada Pension Plan admits he travelled to the Middle East and has received his first COVID-19 vaccination there.
Mark Machin says he travelled to Dubai for what he calls “very personal reasons,” adding he remains there, where he will receive his second inoculation as well.
Machin says he’s disappointed the trip has become public knowledge.
A spokesperson for federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says they weren’t notified about the trip beforehand, adding the revelation is “deeply troubling.”