COVID-19 exposure impacts Red Lake-area elementary school
Staff and students not contacted by public health can continue to attend school as usual
The Keewatin Patricia District School Board (KPDSB) is reporting possible COVID-19 exposure within its Golden Learning Centre elementary school in Balmertown, Ont.
The school board issued an advisory on Friday, September 18, alerting students and staff of the possible exposure impacting the school, which serves the communities of Balmertown, Cochenour, McKenzie Island, and the northern side of the Chukuni River subdivision near Red Lake.
"We are working with NWHU [Northwestern Health Unit] to make sure all potential risks are minimized. Due to our COVID-19 prevention strategies in place, those staff and students not contacted by public health are deemed to be at no additional risk and can continue to attend school as usual," reads the statement posted to the Keewatin Patricia District School Board website.
Advisories posted to the school board COVID-19 page, as required by the Ministry of Education, occur when there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 that involves a student or a staff member in a school setting.
Officials remind families of COVID-19 testing protocol
In a post on the Golden Learning Centre Facebook Page, school officials are reminding families that COVID-19 can be brought into schools "unknowingly," despite prevention strategies such as physical distancing, cohorting, time outdoors and enhanced cleaning during the day and in the evening.
"If your student develops any symptom, please have them stay home from school and contact the local assessment centre to get tested," reads the post on the Golden Learning Centre Facebook Page.
Officials from the school echoed the board's message, stating that only close contacts of the case would be contacted.
"Please note that a close contact is considered someone who has been within 2 metres of someone for longer than 15 minutes. Individuals passing by in a hallway are not considered contacts and have very minimal risk of spreading infection," reads the Facebook post.
Health unit confirmed new case on September 18
On Friday, the NWHU confirmed a new case of COVID-19 in the Dryden-Red Lake area. For reasons of privacy, NWHU does not release or comment on information about the location of COVID-19 test results.
Following the confirmation of the latest case, the NWHU posted a reminder about student COVID-19 testing. The health unit said it recommends testing if a student has cold or flu-like symptoms.
"A health care provider is not able to determine whether a person has COVID-19 or another respiratory infection without doing a COVID-19 test. It is not useful to see a health care provider to request not to get tested if you have these symptoms," reads the NWHU Facebook post.
To date, there have 48 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the NWHU catchment area. One Dryden-Red Lake area case remains active.