COVID outbreak declared at VK Greer as two students identified as cases

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has declared a COVID outbreak at VK Greer PS in Port Sydney, with two students identified as cases.

An outbreak in a school setting is declared whenever there are two or more cases. Parents and guardians of students at the school were notified yesterday.

Children under the age of 12 are still not eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, although approval is on the horizon.

The health unit asks parents of all school-age children to continue to screen their children before going to school and keep them home if they have symptoms.

There are currently seven active cases in Huntsville and one in Lake of Bays. Elsewhere there are two active cases in Bracebridge and one in Georgian Bay.

There has been an overall increase in cases in Simcoe Muskoka over the past three weeks, including nine this month in Huntsville and two in Lake of Bays. One man died from COVID-related complications last week.

SMDHU noted in a media release today that it will continue contacting individuals who test positive for COVID-19 for an interview. When contacted, an individual will receive isolation directions and instructions for notifying their close contacts based on the length of time spent together, physical proximity and whether they live in the same household. Anyone who is not fully immunized and is identified as a close contact of an individual who tested positive is required to self-isolate for 10 days from their last exposure and get tested for COVID-19.

“With the cooler weather more people are spending time indoors with people from outside of their household. As the number of cases trends upwards, I urge all residents to continue practising preventative measures, including completing daily COVID-19 screenings, physical distancing from those living outside your household, masking and frequent handwashing,” said SMDHU medical officer of health Dr. Charles Gardner. “It is essential that individuals stay home when feeling ill, even if symptoms are mild and seek assessment and testing. As well, individuals who have not yet received their COVID-19 vaccination are encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as they are able.”

For more information about COVID-19 and how to get vaccinated, visit smdhu.org/COVID-19.

Don’t miss out on Doppler!

Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox so you don’t miss anything!

Click here to support local news