Toronto Catholic school board staff member dies of COVID-19, union says
Posted November 18, 2020 12:35 pm.
Last Updated November 18, 2020 6:08 pm.
A Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) staff member has died of COVID-19, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says.
“CUPE Ontario’s 280,000 members mourn the loss of our sister, a CUPE education worker @TCDSB, who passed away after contracting COVID-19. Our solidarity and condolences to her family, friends, and all her union colleagues,” the union said in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.
The TCDSB said the woman worked at St. Frances De Sales Catholic School, located 333 Firgrove Crescent, near Jane Street and Finch Avenue West.
“We’ve recently learned of a tragic death of a staff member of the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB),” said Shazia Vlahos, chief of communications. “This unfortunate news is a huge loss to our entire TCDSB community.”
Vlahos said they are providing support services to the school community.
According to the TCDSB COVID-19 website, the school has two confirmed cases of the virus: a staff member and a student.
Toronto Public Health declined to provide details on where the education worker may have contracted the virus.
“While we appreciate the desire for more information, we must balance the public health reason to release the information requested and this individual and their family’s right to the protection of personal health information and right to privacy,” said Dr. Vinita Dubey, the city’s associate medical officer of health.
St. Francis De Sales School is near the intersection of Jane Street and Finch Avenue in Toronto’s north-west corner, which has some of the highest rates of COVID-19 in the city.
City data indicates that the area of Black Creek – north of Jane Street and a block away from the school – has 846 cases per 100,000 people. Glenfield-Jane Heights, where the school is located, has 512 cases per 100,000 people.
