For the fourth time since students returned to class in September, a school in Northern Health's jurisdiction has experienced two COVID-19 exposure events.
North Peace Secondary in Fort St. John has been alerted once again for the virus, listing Nov. 19 as the latest date students and staff may have been exposed to a lab-confirmed case.
This comes a week after the School District 60 (SD60) institution was flagged the first time for COVID-19 exposure (Nov. 20), which originally listed Nov. 10, 12, 13 and 16 as those dates.
"Every school in B.C. has a COVID-19 safety plan in place. In this circumstance, the safety plan was followed precisely - and because of this, the risk of additional cases is very low," wrote Northern Health Medical Health Officer Dr. Raina Fumerton in a letter to parents after the initial detection.
"We recognize that learning of a potential exposure to COVID-19 may cause concern for families, and we hope to address some of those concerns with the following information."
Northern Health's school-exposure section explains students should still go to school "if you do not receive a phone call or letter from Public Health," but you're also encouraged to monitor symptoms daily.
Should a student or teacher receive a positive COVID-19 test, Northern Heath's school notification process is as follows:
- 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
In the north, there have been 21 total schools alerted for COVID-19:
- North Peace Secondary (SD60) - Nov. 10, 12, 13, 16, 19, 2020
- Fort St. James Secondary (SD91) - Nov. 19-20, 2020
- Peden Hill Elementary (SD57) - Nov. 12-17, 17-20, 2020
- Energetic Learning Campus - Fort St. John (SD60) - Nov. 16-20, 2020
- Dawson Creek Secondary School - South Peace Campus (SD59) - Nov. 16-18, 2020; Sept. 23-25, 2020
- Charlie Lake Elementary School (SD60) - Nov. 23-24, 2020
- William Konkin Elementary School (SD91) - Nov. 16, 2020
- Bert Bowes Middle (SD60) - Nov. 16, 2020
- Chetwynd Secondary (SD59) - Nov. 13, 2020
- Van Bien Elementary (SD57) - Nov. 9-10, 2020
- Ron Brent Elementary (SD57) - Oct. 30, 2020
- Hudson's Hope Elementary-Junior Secondary (SD60) - Oct. 26-Nov. 4, 2020
- Immaculate Conception School (Diocese of Prince George) - Oct. 21-23, 2020
- Roosevelt Park Elementary (SD52) - Oct. 21-22, 2020
- Fort Nelson Secondary (SD81) - Oct. 15-16, 2020
- Notre Dame School (Private) - Oct. 13-14, 2020
- Prince George Secondary - Oct. 2, 2020
- David Hoy Elementary (SD91) - Sept. 17-18, 2020
- Quesnel Junior Secondary (SD28) - Sept. 10-11, 15-18, 2020
- Nak’albun Elementary (Independent) - Sept. 16-18, 2020
- Ecole Frank Ross Elementary (SD59) - Sept. 10-11, 2020
As of this publication (Nov. 27), there have 737 positive tests for COVID-19 in Northern Health, including 198 active ones, six deaths, 25 hospitalizations, 10 of whom are in critical care, and 533 recoveries.
- with files from Matt Preprost, Alaska Highway News
