“There would be very few schools that last week heading into this week that weren’t above their absences from September,” said Peter Sovran, UGDSB director of education.
Sovran said he believes respiratory illnesses are to blame for the increase in absences from schools.
The school board says the nine per cent average absentee rate recorded in September is considered normal.
On Monday, that number jumped to an average of 15 percent, meaning over 5,600 students were not in class.
“There’s certainly an increase in some of the respiratory illnesses in our community right now, not just COVID, but other illnesses,” said Sovran.
The board resumed posting daily absence rates on its website this week, a move it says is to provide transparency.
The data does not detail the reason why students were not in class.
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph’s top doctor says absenteeism is a concerning trend.
“There are significant rates of school absenteeism, in fact, one of our boards reported they were seeing rates upward of 30 per cent,” said Dr. Nicola Mercer, medical officer of health for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health. “When there are infectious diseases circulating it can affect a classroom, a school or school board quite drastically.”
The number of emergency room visits also more than doubled.
“They are actually overcapacity, so they are holding children in emerg[ency], and they have more children admitted to hospital than they have beds for,” said Mercer.
Mercer is warning of a tough respiratory season ahead.
“We are seeing a much bigger number of influenza cases than we normally see this time of year, and it doesn’t look like it’s peaked in the province,” said Mercer.
To lessen the pressure put on hospitals and get kids back in class, she’s urging the public to mask up and keep up to date with immunizations, particularly for the flu and COVID-19.
“The number one thing we can all do is stay home when you’re sick, parent or child,” said Mercer.
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.
Memphis authorities released video footage Friday showing Tyre Nichols being beaten by police officers who held the Black motorist down and repeatedly struck him with their fists, boots and batons as he screamed for his mother and pleaded, ''I'm just trying to go home.'
When selling a home, Canadians may be exempted from paying capital gains tax on a residential property -- if it's their principal residence. On CTVNews.ca, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew explains what's determined as a principal residence, and what properties are eligible for the exemption.
Aryna Sabalenka, a 24-year-old from Belarus, who won her first Grand Slam title by coming back to beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Saturday night, using 17 aces among her 51 total winners to overcome seven double-faults.
With a deal under negotiation between Ottawa and provinces, and premiers invited to a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in early February, the issue remains one where the Tory leader's position appears somewhat murky, including to some inside his own party.
A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing seven people, including a 70-year-old woman, and wounding three others before he was shot and killed by police, officials said.
The head of the Canada Revenue Agency says it 'wouldn't be worth the effort' to fully review $15.5 billion in potentially ineligible pandemic wage benefit payments flagged by Canada's Auditor General.
Using phones and tablets to communicate in encrypted chatrooms, a rapidly growing group of U.S. and allied troops and contractors are providing real-time maintenance advice -- usually speaking through interpreters -- to Ukrainian troops on the battlefield.
Only a few days after a large winter weather system rolled through southern Ontario, Environment Canada has once again issued a special weather statement for the London region, warning of a snow-rain mix expected to begin Saturday night.
A group of friends from west London, Ont. are giving back to the community one coat, one coffee and one hug at a time. They hit the streets Friday night as part of a yearly initiative to help those living in rough conditions.
While the deadline to file your taxes is months away, there are some personal tax credits Ontarians may qualify for that require some time pilfering through receipts to get them.
Barrie Colts owner Howie Campbell, as well as the captain and alternate captain of the Colts, Brandt Clarke and Jacob Frasca visited the two patients at RVH this week.
The manager of a Tim Hortons in North Bay was wrong to fire a long-term employee because of her physical limitations, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has ruled.
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.
The Parliamentary Protective Service says it expects as many as 500 people to gather on Parliament Hill for an event this weekend to mark the one-year anniversary since the start of the 'Freedom Convoy' protest.
The transformation of a house in downtown Toronto – from a multi-unit with below market rent to a luxury single-family home – is not an anomaly. But rather, housing and legal experts say it is emblematic of why a housing crisis continues to grip the city.
While the deadline to file your taxes is months away, there are some personal tax credits Ontarians may qualify for that require some time pilfering through receipts to get them.
A man considered one of Quebec's most wanted criminals has been arrested in Mexico on allegations of pimping and serious sexual offences. A Canada-wide warrant was for Blake Charbonneau's arrest last year, with a reward of up to $50,000 offered last year for information that could lead to his capture.
On Jan. 29, 2017, six men were killed and five others injured shortly after evening prayer at the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre. Montrealers gathered Friday to commemorate the victims and call for action amid a rise in hate crimes.
In an emotional and powerful speech at an International Holocaust Remembrance Day event in Ottawa, a survivor stressed the importance of remembering the millions of victims murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War and underscored the need to stand up against anti-semitism and hate.
The Halifax Thunderbirds hosted its annual Every Child Matters night Friday, which included a pre-game ceremony to draw attention to and honour the victims and survivors of Canada’s residential school system.
Record collectors in Newfoundland will have a chance Saturday to paw through selections from the vast vinyl library belonging to 98-year-old radio station VOWR.
Tyler Toffoli and the Calgary Flames rebounded from one of their ugliest losses of the season and picked up an important two points in the Pacific Division before starting the All-Star break.
The self-proclaimed spiritual leader accused of sexually assaulting four of his female followers between 2017 and 2020 made his first court appearance in Edmonton.
New details have emerged in an ongoing civil lawsuit against the City of Leduc as court documents detail allegations that women working as firefighters experienced systemic discrimination and sexual assault.
An Alberta government email review of whether Premier Danielle Smith’s office interfered with Crown prosecutors has taken a confusing turn, with duelling statements from two spokespeople on what was investigated.
The chief of the Williams Lake First Nation says he would support excavating possible unmarked graves at the site of the former St. Joseph's Mission residential school if that's what elders and the community decide is best.
A review has been launched after police officers were recorded restraining a handcuffed Indigenous child on the floor of a Vancouver hospital – an incident the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has denounced as "horrendous."
