Dr. J. E. Davey Elementary in Hamilton closed for a week amid COVID-19 outbreak

Hamilton’s public school board have closed a Central Hamilton school amid a COVID-19 outbreak that reduced staffing to inadequate levels to operate the facility.

The Hamilton Wentworth District School board (HWDSB) said students from Dr. J. E. Davey Elementary will temporarily transition to remote learning for at least the next week, starting on Monday.

“Due to the number of staff close contacts identified by Hamilton Public Health Services, the school is unable to provide appropriate staffing levels to ensure safety and support student programming,” the HWDSB said in a statement on the weekend.

The board is expecting to transition students back to in-person learning on Monday, March 29.

The outbreak, which involves six students and two staff, began on March 18. Public health has confirmed at least one case is tied to a coronavirus variant.

“Safety continues to drive our school operation decisions as we respond to COVID-19 in our community. While we want our students learning in person and at school, we have to be ready to pivot our learning model to manage school cases and respond to the impact on staffing levels,” director of education Manny Figueiredo said in a statement over the weekend.

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Last week, Hamilton public schools recorded 64 total COVID-19 cases, with 53 at the HWDSB and another 11 at the Catholic school board.

There are four outbreaks involving 11 people at public schools in Hamilton as of March 21, all of them elementary schools.

The other outbreaks include two cases at Greensville Elementary, three cases at Mountview Elementary, and a pair of cases at St. Lawrence Catholic.

Only one of the four schools, St. Lawrence, does not have a case tied to a COVID-19 variant.

Combined Hamilton public school boards have recorded over 270 coronavirus cases since a return to in-person classes amid the pandemic ordered by the ministry of education in early February.

As of Sunday, Hamilton public health reported 32 coronavirus outbreaks in the city involving 350 cases.