Coronavirus prompts TVDSB to cancel 8 school trips to Europe
About 169 students affected; board says health concerns have to come first
The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) has cancelled eight school trips to mainland Europe scheduled for March Break in response to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, CBC News has learned.
Doriana Rosati, the board's system principal responsible for field trips, said the decision was made in light of the growing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide.
"In looking at the escalating numbers of the outbreak .... it's grown into France, Italy and Spain and those are locations where are kids were scheduled to be going and we just can't risk our children's health or staff or volunteers," she said.
In an interview with CBC's Afternoon Drive on Tuesday, Rosati said the cancellations will affect 169 students, staff and chaperones.
A trip to Ireland for 32 students slated to depart next week has not yet been cancelled but board staff are closely watching the situation in that country.
Rosati said she expects families who paid for the trips will receive full refunds as they were required to purchase the trips using premium insurance packages. She said the trips ranged in cost depending on the destination, but typically cost between $3,000 and $4,000.
The cancelled trips were scheduled over March Break.
The board says school trips planned for April, May and June are still going forward at this point.
Health has to come first
Rosati said the board made the decision to cancel after watching the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Europe grow in recent days.
"The risk of not only contracting the virus but of quarantine over in Europe, it's significant," she said. "As a parent myself, all we want is for our kids when they're in the hands of other people to be safe and secure. The last thing we want to worry about is their health and whether or not they're going to be able to make it back to Canada."
For now, Rosati said there are no immediate plans to re-schedule any trips.
"We're leaving those decisions for another time," she said.
Ontario reported two more cases of the novel coronavirus Tuesday, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in Canada to 30.
WHO reported 90,893 cases globally, with 3,119 deaths. Most of those cases and deaths were reported in China, but there are an increasing number of countries reporting cases of coronavirus.
In Europe, the number of cases has grown in recent days. Officials said Tuesday that the number of virus cases in Italy rose by nearly 500 to 2,502. France on Tuesday reported a total of 204 cases, up 13 from the previous day, and a total of four deaths.
In total, around 150 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in Spain.