Schools with COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia's school system was already on its standard March break when the first wave hit in winter 2020, and the lockdown restrictions meant students never returned to the classroom that school year. Remote learning went so well, that the second wave of COVID-19 infections brought a new commitment from government to keep schools open as long as possible, even as other parts of society shut down.

The system successfully navigated the second wave in November and December 2020, following the strategy from the provincial education department: School was in session for in-person classes across the province, although individual schools closed for a few days of cleaning if there was a case connected to that school. Going into the March 2021 third wave, the strategy is the same, and individual schools are still getting cases, resulting in some temporary closures in those and associated schools. Here, we are listing infection reports and the province's instructions about what is being done to deal.

To the best of our knowledge, as of April 25, 2021 there have been 57 cases at 41 different schools in Nova Scotia (counting from the first cases reported on November 16). If we've missed any, or you'd like to talk about the school system during the pandemic, please send us an email at [email protected], leave a comment below or get into our DMs on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, et cetera.

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9 CASES Reported April 25 Details: As the cases mount in schools, the province is getting more streamlined in its reporting, dividing today's record daily high of nine cases at nine schools into two groups: Either schools that have to close for three days of cleaning, or schools that were closed anyway for two weeks as part of the Dartmouth school shutdown. Here's the breakdown as copied and pasted straight from the Sunday provincial press release.

The following schools will remain closed to students until Thursday, April 29:

• Jubilee Elementary, Sydney Mines
• Bedford South School, Bedford
• Chebucto Heights Elementary, Halifax
• Joseph Howe Elementary, Halifax
• Oxford School, Halifax

A deep cleaning will take place and students will learn from home during the closure. Families will receive an update on Wednesday, April 28.

The following schools are within a family of schools that is already closed until May 10:

• Atlantic View Elementary, Lawrencetown
• Brookhouse Elementary, Dartmouth
• Cole Harbour District High, Dartmouth
• Nelson Whynder Elementary, North Preston

These schools will also undergo a deep cleaning.

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5 CASES Reported April 24 Details: For the fifth day in a row, the province is announcing COVID cases at schools around the province. The disease hasn't gone on that kind of streak in Nova Scotia's school system before, suggesting that this third wave is no joke. There are five schools in today's provincial update, each with one case, leading to a variety of responses. Nothing changes because of the new case at Astral Drive Elementary, for example, because it was already shut down for two weeks as part of the Auburn High family of schools (see below). But the case at Prince Andrew High (its second of the pandemic) is triggering a new two-week closure, which captures PA feeder Caledonia Junior High and its case from today: "Out of an abundance of caution, students in the Prince Andrew family of schools will learn from home until May 10," the province says. "Schools will communicate with students and families on the arrangements for students to gather essential personal belonging, such as medication, specialized equipment, and learning resources, and technology if needed." The fourth case of the day, at Breton Education Centre in New Waterford, Cape Breton, causes BEC to close for cleaning until next Thursday, April 29. And finally the case at Halifax's Citadel High, its second in Covid times, is open-ended. "Citadel High School families will receive an update on Sunday, April 25 regarding timelines for when the building will reopen," the province says, as if it can't decide whether Citadel should close for the standard three-day cleaning period that Breton's getting, or get the full two-week shutdown treatment like PA . "Until the building is reopened, students will learn from home."

Update: Citadel's getting the standard three-day cleaning closure, according to an email from the school to it families (families of students, parents and caregivers, not families of feeder schools). It is slated to reopen Thursday, April 29

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3 Cases Reported April 23 Details: In two announcements the province identified three schools that each have a freshly diagnosed case of COVID. Two of the cases are "connected to Cobequid Educational Centre in Truro, Northern Zone, and Shipyard Elementary in Sydney, Eastern Zone," the province says. The third case, announced about four hours later, is "connected to Oyster Pond Academy in Oyster Pond, Central Zone." According to the province, none of the infected people were in school today, and all three schools will be closed for deep cleaning until Thursday, April 29.

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5 cases Reported April 22 Details: Five schools have one case each in the province's report. Dartmouth South Academy, which has its second recent case, and Ross Road School are among the Dartmouth schools closing for two weeks as part of the Halifax Regional Municipality lockdown announced earlier today (see below). Holland Road and St. Catherine's are both closing until next Wednesday, April 28; the province says students will learn from home until then. And finally SJAM, which was already closed due to a case announced April 18 (scroll below), "is expected to reopen on Monday, April 26," the provinces says.

Update: On April 23 the province decided to extend SJAM's closure. The announcement says "due to the number of close contacts connected to previously identified cases, and out of an abundance of caution, St. Joseph’s-Alexander McKay Elementary in Halifax will remain closed to students until May 10. Families will receive more information from the school today."

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Closures Reported April 22 Details: Today the province announced that uncontrolled community spread of the virus and Nova Scotia's third wave have arrived. To rein in infections, new restrictions are coming to Halifax Regional Municipality and some surrounding areas starting tomorrow—Friday, April 23—at 8am. "Most schools and all child care centres remain open," says the province. However, a sizeable collection of schools in Dartmouth, "which are in an area of increased COVID-19 activity, will close to students and move to at-home learning for a two-week period." Those schools are:

• Auburn Drive High family of schools
• Cole Harbour District High family of schools
• Dartmouth High family of schools
• École secondaire Mosaïque
• École du Carrefour
• École Bois-Joli

"Staff will remain working from schools and use this time to prepare online instruction," the province says. "All other public schools in the province will continue with in-school learning. However, masks will be mandatory for all students" no matter how young. Shutting down a high school's "family" means closing several elementary and junior high "feeder schools" in the surrounding area; shutting down three families as the province is doing effects more than 20 feeder schools. For reference, here is Halifax's school family tree.

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1 case Reported April 21 Details: Near the end of the day, the province reported another school case, this one at Bell Park Academic Centre in Lake Echo. "The school will remain closed to students until Tuesday, April 27. A deep cleaning will take place and students will learn from home during the closure," says the provincial press release about the case. "As with any positive case, public health will be in touch with any close contacts on this person and advise of next steps, including testing."

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1 case Reported April 21 Details: After today's official C19 report named a school case at Joseph Giles Elementary, another one was announced. Shannon Park Elementary is back on this list for the second day in a row (see below), and its third time overall. Yesterday the school was closed for cleaning until April 26; with today's case that cleaning period has been extended until at least Tuesday, April 27. "Families will receive an update before students return to school on Tuesday," says the province. "Out of an abundance of caution, public health is recommending that all students and staff be tested."

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1 Case Reported April 21 Details: In Wednesday's daily COVID-19 report, which details 25 new cases around Nova Scotia, the province identified a new school infection: "Another case that is under investigation in Central Zone is connected to Joseph Giles Elementary in Dartmouth. The school will remain closed to students until Tuesday, April 27. A deep cleaning will take place and students will learn from home during the closure. Families will receive an update before students return to school on Tuesday." It's the sixth school case in the last four days, a very high rate for the province.

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1 Case Reported April 20 Details: it was almost 11 o'clock at night when the province announced its third school case of the day. Like those other schools (named immediately below), Mount Edward Elementary is in Dartmouth and will be shut for cleaning until at least Monday, April 26.

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2 cases Reported April 20 Details: Just two days after the first school cases in weeks, the current surge of infections is bringing a pair of cases to schools in Dartmouth. "Nova Scotia is reporting two additional cases of COVID-19, identified today, April 20, connected to Dartmouth South Academy elementary and Auburn Drive High in Central Zone," says the press release announcing the cases. Both schools will be closed for cleaning until at least Monday, April 26. This is Dartmouth South's first case, but Auburn Drive is the province's veteran. It was the first school to get a case, then it was the first school to get a second case, both of those coming in November 2020. Now it's the first school to have a third COVID closure.

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1 Case Reported April 18 Details: Two hours after the case announced at South Woodside (below), around 11 on Sunday night the province announced a case at St. Joseph’s-Alexander McKay Elementary. SJAM—which has served Halifax's north end for 100 years—will join South Woodside in being closed for cleaning until Thursday, April 22, and public health likewise recommends testing for all students and staff.

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1 Case Reported April 18 Details: Some elementary school students were probably in bed Sunday night at 8:48pm when the province put out its alert about a COVID-19 case "connected to South Woodside Elementary School in Central Zone." When they wake up in the morning, they'll discover that their Everette Street school is shut for cleaning until Thursday, April 22. "Out of an abundance of caution, public health is recommending that all students and staff be tested," says the alert. "No self-isolation is required, unless people have been identified as a close contact by public health or have symptoms."

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1 case Reported march 27 Details: On Friday, March 26, the province announced a "probable case" at Sackville Heights Junior High, which serves more than 600 students in Grades 6 through 8 in Lower Sackville. The next day, the province confirmed it was a positive case. Not that the confirmation particularly matters: The province errs on the side of caution with a probable case, so on Friday it shut the school for cleaning and contract tracing, aiming to open on Thursday, April 1. "Students will learn from home during the closure and families of the school will receive an update on Wednesday, March 31," the province said Friday. That timeline hadn't changed as of Saturday's official diagnosis. Sackville Heights is a feeder for Millwood High School, which also had a case recently (see below).

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1 case Reported March 25 Details: After more than a month without a COVID-19 case in a Nova Scotia school, Middle Sackville's Millwood High School reminds us not to sleep on this blasted virus. The case was diagnosed at some point during the daytime on Thursday, early enough that it got announced in the province's standard daily C19 press release that came out around 2:30pm, but too late to be added to the official Nova Scotia C19 data site for Thursday. "The person was not in school today and is self-isolating," says the press update, scrupulously not identifying the patient as a student, teacher, support staff or what. "The school will close to allow for deep cleaning, testing and contact tracing, and is expected to reopen to students on Wednesday, March 31. Students will learn from home during the closure and families of the school will receive an update on Tuesday, March 30." Like usual in school cases, "public health will be in touch with any close contacts of this case and advise of next steps. Everyone who is a close contact will be notified, tested and asked to self-isolate for 14 days." This is Millwood's first C19 case.

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1 CASE Reported February 17 Details: In February's first school case, today the province reported an infection "connected to Beaver Bank-Monarch Drive Elementary in Central Zone." Currently in self-isolation, the patient hasn't been in the school since last Friday, February 12. "Out of an abundance of caution, and in consultation with Public Health, our school will be closed to students until at least Tuesday, February 23, to allow for a deep cleaning and time for Public Health to engage in contact tracing," reads the announcement on the school's site. "We understand you may feel anxious over the coming days. It is natural to want to know if your child may have been exposed to the virus. Public Health officials will inform those who are at risk of the next steps, but to protect the privacy of students and staff, other details including names, will not be released."

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1 case Reported January 21 Details: After nearly three weeks without a single case in the public school system, École acadienne de Truro, a French-language school serving students from Pre-primary all the way through Grade 12, got its first COVID-19 case on January 21, and will shut down in hopes of reopening January 26. "The person was not in school today and is self-isolating. The school will close to allow for deep cleaning, testing and contact tracing, and is expected to reopen to students on Wednesday, Jan. 27. Students will learn from home during the closure and families of the school will receive an update on Tuesday, Jan. 26," says the province's announcement. "As with any positive case, public health will be in touch with any close contacts of this case and advise of next steps. Everyone who is a close contact will be notified, tested and asked to self-isolate for 14 days."

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7 cases Reported January 2, 2021 Details: When the province was supposed to be on a break from reporting COVID-19 cases due to the New Year's long weekend holiday, there were enough new cases that a report was issued anyway. Not only were several of those cases at Churchill Academy, but in its update the province identified a couple more cases at Churchill that somehow hadn't been reported publicly before. This is what the province said in its C19 report: "Five of the cases reported on Jan. 1 are at Churchill Academy, a private school in Dartmouth. There were two other recent cases at the school, for a total of seven. Public health has been in contact with the school community and is arranging testing for all staff and students. The last day of school was Dec. 18 and classes are scheduled to resume Jan. 11." We've asked the province for details about the two vague cases, and will update as we get more information. But the bottom line here is that Churchill Academy has seven cases, the most any single school has seen to this point in Nova Scotia's second wave.

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2 cases Reported December 30 Details: Although the public school system is currently in its special extended holiday break, the province announced COVID-19 cases connected to two schools. "One of the cases is at Prince Andrew High School and one is at Eric Graves Memorial Junior High School, both in Dartmouth," says Nova Scotia's December 30 C19 update. "School communities have been notified directly. The schools are currently closed for the holiday break and will be cleaned again before staff return on Jan. 4."

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1 case Reported December 11 Details: It was only three days ago that Dartmouth's Shannon Park Elementary had its first case. Now it has another, arriving the same day the province announced an extended holiday break for the public school system (the last day of classes for 2020 is Friday, December 18; the first day of the new year is Monday, January 11). About this new case, the province says SPE "has been closed since a previous case was announced and students are now expected to return on Wednesday, Dec. 16. Students will continue to learn from home during the closure and families will receive an update on Tuesday, Dec. 15."

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1 case Reported December 10 Details: No, you're not reading the news from Florida. Apparently the community of Eastern Passage, just outside Dartmouth, is home to Tallahassee Community School. And TCS is home to a new case of the disease. "Public Health has confirmed that a person connected to Tallahassee Community School has tested positive for COVID-19," reads the announcement on the school's website. "Public Health is now working to identify any students and staff who may have been in close contact with the confirmed case. Out of an abundance of caution, and in consultation with Public Health, our school, the before and after school program, and the licenced child care will be closed to students/children Friday, Monday and Tuesday (inclusive) with an expected reopening day of Wednesday, December 16, to allow for a deep cleaning and time for Public Health to engage in contact tracing." The school has 357 students from Pre-primary through Grade 3, with teaching in English and French Immersion. Its nearest high school is Island View High, which we suspect is named for Lawlor and/or McNabs Islands being just offshore from Eastern Passage.

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1 case Reported December 8 Details: One case among the seven new COVID-19 cases reported Dec. 8 in Nova Scotia is connected to Shannon Park Elementary. This Dartmouth school—a feeder for Dartmouth High—serves 616 students, in both French Immersion and English, Pre-primary through Grade 6. "The person was not in school today and is self-isolating," says the province. "The school will remain closed to students until Monday, Dec. 14 to allow for deep cleaning, testing and contact tracing. Students will learn from home during the closure." The province has the standard words of reassurance for parents and students wondering how far exposure went: "As with any positive case, public health will be in touch with any close contacts of this case and advise of next steps. Everyone who is a close contact will be notified, tested and asked to self-isolate for 14 days."

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1 case Reported December 6 Details: "Nova Scotia has identified a case of COVID-19 today, Dec. 6, at Berwick and District School in Western Zone," says the province's press release. "The school will remain closed to students until Thursday, Dec. 10. A deep cleaning will take place and students will learn from home during the closure. Students and staff will receive an update Wednesday." Located in Berwick, the Annapolis Valley's "little town with a lot to offer," BDS has about 280 students from Grades Primary through 8.

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1 case Reported December 6 Details: "Nova Scotia has identified a case of COVID-19 today, Dec. 6, at Ian Forsyth Elementary School in Dartmouth," the province says. "The school will remain closed to students until Thursday, Dec. 10. A deep cleaning will take place and students will learn from home during the closure. Students and staff will receive an update Wednesday. As with any positive case, public health will be in touch with any close contacts of this case and advise of next steps. Everyone who is a close contact will be notified, tested and asked to self-isolate for 14 days." With 377 students from Pre-primary to Grade 6, Ian Forsyth is a place where, according to the motto, "everyone is a star." It's in the Prince Andrew High School family, according to the way the un-elected Halifax Regional Centre for Education classification system.

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1 Case Reported December 4 Details: Nova Scotia is announcing 15 cases of COVID-19 today. Most are not in schools, but "most" doesn't mean all. "There is also a new case, identified today, at Park West School, a primary to Grade 9 school in Central Zone," says the province's report to media. "The person was not in school today and is self-isolating. The school will remain closed to students until Thursday, Dec. 10. A deep cleaning will take place, and students will learn from home during the closure. As a precautionary measure, the offsite Park West pre-primary location will also be closed until Dec. 10." Feeding Halifax West high school, PWS has over 800 students; they get at least a week of remote learning. "Students and families of both the school and pre-primary will receive an update Wednesday, December 9," the province promises.

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1 case Reported December 3 Details: Citadel, the big downtown Halifax high school, has 1,509 students learning in both English and French in Grades 10, 11 and 12. And now it has a coronavirus patient, too. "Nova Scotia has identified a case of COVID-19 today, Dec. 3, at Citadel High School, in Halifax, in Central Zone," reports the province. "The school had been closed to students today as a professional development and virtual parent/teacher day. It will remain closed Friday, Dec. 4 and Monday, Dec. 7. A deep cleaning will take place, and students will learn from home during the closure. Students and staff will receive an update Monday."

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1 case Reported December 1 Details: Sometimes the province announces school-based infections along with other new C19 cases, in the regular daily update. Other times, a case in school is discovered after the daily update has been sent to media, and it gets an announcement of its own. SMBE was on its own, around 8:20pm on a Tuesday. "Nova Scotia is reporting one additional case of COVID-19, identified today, Dec. 1, connected to St. Margaret's Bay Elementary school in Central Zone," read the provincial press release. "The school will be closed Wednesday, Dec. 2, for deep cleaning. Staff and students will receive notification from the school about reopening." Between the unexpected, late-hour press release and the immediate closure, it lead the news that Wednesday morning. The school itself has 409 students, Pre-primary to Grade 5 (no French Immersion), and sits under the Sir John A. Macdonald High School umbrella.

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1 case Reported November 29 Details: NKEC is a large institution—nearly 1,000 students and staff, Grade 6 through Grade 12—in the small, Annapolis Valley village of Canning. Today's COVID-19 case is the school's second, coming five days after the first, a point the province made clear when announcing it. "The school has been closed since the first case was announced on Nov. 24. The public health investigation in the coming days will determine whether this case was a close contact of the first confirmed case," says the press release. "Given the school has been closed, this case is not believed to have been in school while infectious. To allow for completion of contact tracing and testing, and out of an abundance of caution, Northeast Kings Education Centre will remain closed for the week and students will be supported to learn at home."

As is typical in these situations, the press release explains that close contacts of the patient will be notified. But unusually—maybe because this is a second case—it also talks about the process behind closures: "When a member of the school community tests positive for COVID-19, public health works with the school to let families know about the positive case and what happens next. Those decisions - including whether to keep a school open, close a classroom or close the entire school - are made by public health and the Regional Centre for Education/Conseil scolaire acadien provincial based on the level of risk to other members of the school community and the operational capacity to support in-class learning."

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1 case Reported NOVEMBER 27 Details: "One new case, identified today, is at Bedford South School, a pre-primary to grade 4 school in Central Zone." So says the province's COVID-19 report for Friday, Nov. 27, adding another school to the growing list of infection sites. "The person was not in school today and is self-isolating. Public health will be in touch with close contacts as part of their ongoing investigation and advise of next steps. Everyone in a class which a confirmed case attended will be tested and is required to self-isolate for 14 days. Bedford South School will be closed for cleaning and contact tracing until at least Wednesday, Dec. 2 (inclusive) at which time more information will be communicated to families. Students will be supported to learn at home." BSS is part of the Charles P. Allen high school family. It has nearly 600 students, learning in English (sans French Immersion) from Pre-primary up to Grade 4.

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1 case Reported NOVEMBER 24 Details: What sort of school is Northeast Kings? Apparently it's "a school within a school," according to the website within the school within a school. "We have a Middle School of grade six to eight students and a High School of grade nine to 12 students. Our school has a population of approximately 900 students and 85 staff members." NKEC is in Canning, a village with a smaller population than the school, known for the scenic view of the Annapolis Valley afforded by its look off, which is called the Look Off—making for a Look Off-within-a-look off situation. Anyway, today NKEC is on the map because it has a case of COVID-19. "The person is not in school today and is self-isolating," says the provincial press release. "Public health will be in touch with close contacts as part of their ongoing investigation and advise of next steps. Everyone in a class which a confirmed case attended is being tested and asked to self-isolate for 14 days. Northeast Kings Education Centre will be closed for the remainder of the week and students will be supported to learn at home."

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1 case Reported NoVEMBER 20 Details: Auburn Drive shared the honour of being the first school in Nova Scotia with a case of COVID-19. Now it stands alone as the first school to record its second case. And the first high school to get all its related elementary and junior high schools shut down with it. From the province's announcement today: "Nova Scotia is reporting one additional case of COVID-19 at Auburn Drive High School in Cole Harbour. The new case is a close contact of an earlier reported case at the school. Auburn Drive High and its family of schools will close for the day on Friday, Nov. 20, which includes:

• Astral Drive Elementary
• Astral Drive Junior High
• Bell Park Academic Centre
• Caldwell Road Elementary
• Colby Village Elementary
• Graham Creighton Junior High
• Humber Park Elementary
• Joseph Giles Elementary

"Schools will be closed to community bookings from now until Sunday, Nov. 22. Friday is an assessment and evaluation day for students from pre-primary to grade 9. Staff will work from home except for caretaking and custodial staff. 

"Public health will be in touch with close contacts as part of its ongoing investigation and advise of next steps. Everyone in a class which a confirmed case attended is being tested and must self-isolate for 14 days. Students will be supported to learn at home.

"When a member of the school community tests positive for COVID-19, public health works with the school to let families know about the positive case and what happens next. Those decisions, including whether to keep a school open, close a classroom or close the entire school, are made based on the level of risk to other members of the school community and the operational capacity to support in-class learning."

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2 cases Reported November 16 Details: This day was both unwanted and inevitable in our pandemic second wave. Now it is here. "Nova Scotia is reporting two additional cases of COVID-19 today, the first cases associated with schools," says the province's announcement. "One person at Graham Creighton Junior High in Cherry Brook and one person at Auburn Drive High in Cole Harbour tested positive for COVID-19. Neither attended school today and both are self-isolating at home. Public health will be in touch with close contacts as part of their ongoing investigation and advise of next steps. Everyone in a class which a confirmed case attended is being tested and asked to self-isolate for 14 days. Students will be supported to learn at home. Only members of the school community who are directed to stay home are required to do so." 

Marking the debut of infections in schools, both chief medical officer of health Robert Strang and Zach Churchill, education and early childhood development minister, speak in the press release. "Our schools mirror our communities, so this news is not unexpected," Churchill says. "We are taking our direction from public health. They are the experts. Any student or staff who needs to learn or teach from home will be provided necessary supports." Strang, speaking for the experts, says: "While not a surprise, these cases are a stark reminder that we need to be diligent about following public health measures. Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Keep your distance from others not in your household or close social circle. This is the only way we're going to get ahead of the curve." Hopefully these soothing, rational words will help people avoid freaking out.

Graham Creighton has 296 students in Grades 7 to 9, French Immersion and English. It is one of the junior highs that sends students on to Auburn Drive high school, where 829 students are enrolled this year for education in both French and English in Grade 10, Grade 11 and Grade 12.