data presented by medical officer of health dr. wajid ahmed on thursday showed 25 per cent of local cases recorded in the last two weeks were among those ages zero to 19. on top of that, nearly all cases in the region have been the more highly transmissible delta variant.
“when we’re talking about the school-based measures, it’s really important to understand what we’re dealing with,” ahmed said.
when it comes to stopping in-person learning again, he said no specific threshold is currently in place provincially. last year, the decision to close schools was based on community transmission rates, among other things.
while a return to remote learning is possible, ahmed said, it’s “definitely not something we want,” and “at this time we’re not contemplating that.” to close schools again, “it would have to be in exceptional circumstances.”
the health unit on thursday reported 73 additional covid-19 cases, as well as the covid-related death of a man in his 50s from the community.
twenty-four people who have tested positive are currently in hospital, and three are in intensive care.
to date, 18,786 local residents have tested positive, including 546 cases that are still active, 444 people who have died as a result of the disease, and 17,796 people who are no longer infectious but who may be experiencing lasting health impacts.