River View School to go virtual for at least 10 days beginning Monday due to COVID cases

Effective Monday, Oct. 25, all classes at River View Public School will move to virtual learning for at least 10 days.

That from an email received from the Algoma District School Board (ADSB).

The ADSB has been working closely with Algoma Public Health (APH) to support several contact tracing investigations after positive COVID-19 tests were linked to individuals connected to River View Public School.

APH declared a facility-wide COVID-19 outbreak at River View Thursday.

The ADSB says there are six confirmed cases of COVID-19 among individuals associated with River View Public School.

“Given the current number of cases, the high absenteeism rate (opting for virtual) and the number of classes already pivoted to hybrid, effective Monday, October 25th, all classes at River View P.S. will move to virtual for at least ten days. Please note that this decision is precautionary and intended to support the best scenario of staffing and supervision, while reducing the potential for additional asymptomatic spread. ADSB will be communicating with families closer to the proposed return date, to confirm when their child’s class is able to revert back to in-person learning,” the ADSB wrote.

“This is not a school closure,” the board emphasized.

“The move to remote/virtual learning is a precautionary measure made by the school board, not one that was ordered by the Health Unit.”

“We regret any inconvenience this may cause, however, we do feel this precautionary decision is in the best interest of student and staff safety,” the ADSB wrote.