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Monday
Elementary school closes temporarily after outbreak confirmed on weekend; sixth Calgary school added to watch list
A northeast Calgary elementary school temporarily closed its doors and switched to online learning today after a COVID-19 outbreak was confirmed on the weekend.
In a statement Sunday to parents, Calgary Board of Education superintendent Christopher Usih said Coventry Hills School (K-3) would close on Monday “following the direction of AHS in identifying close contacts related to a positive case.”
While CBE didn’t specify whether the positive case was a student or teacher, Usih said the closure “is solely due to staffing capacity issues.”
The temporary closure would ensure that substitute teachers can be arranged and “all health measures maintained.”
CBE said it would confirm with families by later today on a return to in-person classes on Tuesday.
John G. Diefenbaker became the sixth Calgary school on Alberta Health Services’ watch list on Monday. There are seven cases at the northwest high school, according to advocacy group Support Our Students’ COVID-19 tracker.
At least 98 schools in Calgary have reported a single case since the start of the school year, according to SOS, including 40 schools that have not reported a case in over two weeks.
In communities around Calgary, cases have been reported at four schools in Airdrie, two schools in Chestermere, one school in Langdon and three schools in Okotoks. Cooper’s Crossing School in Airdrie is on watch status, with five or more cases.
