Ontario reports 74 new COVID-19 cases in its public schools, including 41 more students

The number of new cases in public schools across the province has jumped by 74 from the previous day, to a total of 470 in the last two weeks.

, the province reported 41 more students were infected for a total of 275 in the last two weeks; since school began there have been overall total of 333.

The data shows there are 10 more staff members for a total of 66 in the last two weeks — and an overall total of 102.

The latest report also shows 23 more individuals who weren’t identified for a total of 129 in that category — and an overall total of 176.

There are 347 schools with a reported case, which the province notes is about 7.2 per cent of the 4,828 public schools in Ontario.

Two schools are currently closed, according to the Ministry of Health figures.

One of those is St. Charles Catholic School near Dufferin Street and Lawrence Avenue West in North York.

St. Charles closed Monday for a week after an itinerant music teacher, who tested positive for COVID-19, had contact with three classes in the school of 250.

That staff member also had been assigned to four other schools — St. Demetrius, St. Mark, St. Roch and St. Ursula. But only St. Charles is closed.

Like many boards, the Toronto Catholic board has continued using travelling, or itinerant, teachers to instruct students in gym, music and French during the pandemic, a plan that was approved by the Ministry of Education.

It’s the first Toronto Catholic school to shut down because of COVID, and the second school in the city.

Mason Road Junior P.S. which has been closed since Sept. 28 Tuesday. More than 170 students and staff at the Scarborough elementary school were ordered to stay home and isolate while the school shut its doors after four positive cases of COVID-19 were confirmed by the school board, including one student and three staff.

Ottawa’s French Catholic School Board’s École élémentaire catholique Horizon-Jeunesse is also closed according to the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est’s

There is a lag between the daily provincial data at 10:30 a.m. and news reports about infections in schools. The provincial data on Tuesday is current as of 2 p.m. Monday. It also doesn’t indicate where the place of transmission occurred.

The Toronto District School Board updates its information on current COVID-19 cases throughout the day . As of 9 a.m., Tuesday, there were 95 TDSB schools with at least one active case — 96 students and 32 staff.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board also updates its information . As of Tuesday at 6 a.m., there were 32 schools with a COVID-19 case, with 37 students and nine staff infected.

Epidemiologists have that the rising numbers in the schools aren’t a surprise, and that the cases will be proportionate to the amount of COVID that is in the community. Ontario reported 548 new cases overall on Tuesday — 201 in Toronto, 90 in Peel, 56 in York Region and 62 in Ottawa.

With the rising numbers, that schools in hot spots across the province — Toronto, Peel, York and Ottawa — will receive an extra $35 million in funding to hire more teachers and staff, boost cleaning or provide devices for families keeping their kids at home to learn.

Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce made the announcement of the release of the additional federal funds Monday at Queen’s Park.

“This funding will help provide more physical distancing in classrooms, support smaller classrooms and provide more resources for remote learning,” Ford said.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the TDSB is in line for almost $9 million, which would enable it to “hire more than 120 teachers or a hundred more custodians, or 11,000 more technological devices.”

The Toronto Catholic board will receive about $3.4 million, the Peel public board about $5.8 million, the York public board about $4.8 million and the York Catholic board about $2 million, according to the ministry.

With files from Kristin Rushowy

Irelyne Lavery is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Reach her via email: