Norwich Christian school shuts down due to COVID-19

Rehoboth Christian School in Norwich has voluntarily closed after an outbreak of COVID-19 there and in the community around it, Southwestern Public health announced on Sunday, Nov. 15.

The number of confirmed cases in Norwich Township jumped to 18 on Sunday from a dozen the previous day.

Dr. Joyce Lock, Southwestern Medical Officer of Health, said, “There is not one source of transmission or one event to explain this increase in cases.

“As we have seen across the province, ups and downs in cases are to be expected.

 

“We have new cases associated with schools, churches and workplaces. We have cases within family groupings. Today we declared an outbreak at Bethany Care Home, a small retirement home in Norwich.

“Now we are employing a variety of strategies to contain the spread of the virus and reverse the upward trend. We’re working with community leaders, schools, churches and those who care for the seniors and our most vulnerable to the COVID-19 infection.”

She emphasized the importance of physical distancing, wearing of a face-covering, frequent handwashing and staying home when unwell to checking the spread of COVID-19.

Given the number of new cases across Ontario, she added, non-essential travel was being discouraged.

More than 1,200 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed across Ontario Saturday.

Locally, Aylmer and area has seen a minor jump to four cases from one on Saturday, while St. Thomas and area has dropped to one from four, and a new case has appeared in Bayham.

In Oxford, Woodstock and area saw a slight decrease to 17 cases from 18, Ingersoll and area, South-West Oxford and Tillsonburg and area remained steady at three each, Blandford-Blenheim held at two cases, Zorra increased to two from one and East Zorra-Tavistock dipped to one case from two.