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COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Lethbridge schools

LETHBRIDGE, AB – If you’re a parent of a child who’s had to be quarantined lately, you know just how frustrating it can be.

Schools in the city have been seeing a steady jump in positive COVID-19 test results.

As of Monday afternoon (Mar. 15), the Lethbridge School Division currently has 47 cases across 14 public schools. That’s resulted in 1,000 students and 80 staff having to isolate.

Superintendent Cheryl Gilmore says even with that many cases, they’re not considering shutting down any schools or going completely online.

“As Dr. Hinshaw has pointed out, transmission is happening primarily through family and social gatherings. So, schools at this time certainly schools are safe places to be,” Gilmore stated during a local media conference.

Lethbridge Schools Superintendent, Dr. Cheryl Gilmore addressing local media on March 15.

Gilmore says there is no evidence that transmission is taking place in schools. She notes health and safety is their top priority.

Even with 1,000 students on quarantine right now in the public division, Gilmore notes there are still 10,000 kids who continue to attend classes.

Over in the Holy Spirit Catholic Division, that district is facing similar challenges right now.

Superintendent Ken Sampson says it’s “alarming” to see the spike in cases, but like the public division, there’s nothing to indicate in-school transmission. “All of our cases are not connected to school transmission, which is really good. At the same time, with the variants in this area we know it’s probably just a matter of time before things grow.”

The Holy Spirit Division stated as of Monday, the division had 12 active cases (one at Our Lady of the Assumption School, two at Catholic Central High School, five at St. Francis Junior High School and four at St. Teresa of Calcutta) requiring the isolation of roughly 420 staff and students.

Patrick Siedlecki
Patrick Siedlecki
Pat has been a mainstay in the CJOC News department from the time the station launched in 2007. He's been in the position of News Director since then and has been anchoring daily news casts as well as reporting and working behind the scenes. Community is important to him and keeping CJOC listeners and readers informed about what's happening across southern Alberta and beyond. Pat has been in radio broadcasting for the past 24 years, starting in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in 1997 and then moving up island to Nanaimo for another few years before heading to Lethbridge in 2007. Pat grew up in the small Saskatchewan farming town of Foam Lake. After high school, he went to Western Academy Broadcasting College (WABC) in Saskatoon prior to moving to the island. Pat also spent several years broadcasting hockey in the BCHL as well as seven years as the radio voice of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL. Pat has been working at Cornerstone Funeral Home in Lethbridge as a Certified Life Celebrant and Funeral Assistant since 2016. News and sports have always been Pat's passion from the time he was a teenager and he's always been grateful to have had the opportunity to make that part of what's been a fun and long radio career!
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