There has been a COVID-19 exposure event at Maple Ridge secondary school.

According to Fraser Health, a person with a confirmed case of the virus was at the high school on Jan. 29.

The announcement came on the same morning as the province announced that all high schools and middle schools in the province will now have mandatory mask rules, except when students are at their desks, when they are eating or drinking, or when they are behind plexiglass.

READ ALSO: B.C. expands mandatory mask rules in schools, rolls out ‘rapid response teams’

The BC Teachers Federation had called for tougher mask rules in view of new, more easily transmissible variants of COVID-19 which have been found in the province, including at Garibaldi secondary in Maple Ridge this week.

READ ALSO: COVID-19 variant confirmed at Maple Ridge high school

Fraser Health has initiated contact tracing to identify individuals who need to self-isolate or self-monitor for symptoms. Those households that do not receive a phone call or letter should continue having students attend school. Those students and staff who show symptoms must stay home.

The school district also asks students and staff to do a daily health assessment, which can be found on the district’s website at www.sd42.ca.

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