A fourth Prince George school is being warned of a COVID-19 exposure event after its community returned from spring break.
École College Heights is the latest to be flagged by Northern Health as between April 6 and 8, students and staff may have come into contact with someone who recently tested positive for the virus.
This is the third time the elementary school has been alerted for a potential exposure; its last two were Nov. 19-20 and 20-24.
It also follows Duchess Park Secondary, Prince George Secondary and Sacred Heart Elementary as fellow institutions marked for a COVID-19 exposure event since class resumed from spring break on April 6.
The schools' respective dates are listed below.
Since students and staff went back to class last fall, 25 Prince George-based schools, to date, have experienced at least one COVID-19 exposure event, which includes 22 in SD57 and three private institutions.
In all instances, Northern Health's school-exposure section explains the following:
- Contact tracing is initiated to determine how the individual was infected and who they were in close contact with
- We identify and notify close contacts who may be at an increased risk, and advise them to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days
- Only Public Health can determine who is a close contact
- Learning groups, friends or other connections may not be determined to be a close contact
- Public Health staff works closely with the school and school district throughout the case and contact management process to maintain close communication with the school community
An up-to-date list of northern B.C. schools marked for COVID-19 exposure events in the month of April is as follows:
- École College Heights Elementary (SD57) - April 6-8, 2021
- St. Anthony's Catholic School, Kitimat (Independent) - April 6, 2021
- Dawson Creek Secondary, South Peace Campus (SD59) - March 29-April 1, 2021
- Notre Dame Catholic School (Independent) - March 29-April 1, 2021
- Sacred Heart Elementary (Diocese of Prince George) - April 6, 2021
- Kispiox Community School (Independent) - April 6, 2021
- Mountain Christian School Society (Independent) - April 6, 2021
- Prince George Secondary (SD57) - April 6, 2021
- Canalta Elementary (SD59) - April 6, 2021
- C.M. Finch Elementary (SD60) - March 30-April 1, 2021
- Duchess Park Secondary (SD57) - April 6, 2021
- Kersley Elementary (SD28) - April 6-8, 2021
- Dawson Creek Secondary, South Peace Campus (SD59) - March 31-April 1, 2021
As of this publication (April 14), Northern Health has recorded 6,595 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 since March 14, 2020, which has included 132 deaths.
However, speculation suggests the number could be higher as Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry's update yesterday (April 13) said there was a delay in the "Public Health Reporting Data Warehouse lab system."
There are currently 300 active cases across northern B.C., 12 people admitted into critical care among 28 total hospitalizations and 6,155 recoveries.
To date, Northern Health has administered 57,919 vaccinations.
