Interior Health has announced a COVID-19 school exposure in Golden at Lady Grey Elementary,
The days the case attended school while infectious was listed as Jan. 4 and 5.
A “school exposure notification” does not mean all students at the school have been exposed to COVID-19, according to a statement from IH.
If you do not receive a phone call or letter from Interior Health, your child should continue to attend school. You can monitor your child for COVID-19 symptoms daily using the BC COVID-19 Health Assessment Tool.
School District 6 Rocky Mountain has a COVID Safety plan as does each of the schools, according to a statement from the district.
When a case is identified, the District Emergency Response Team is activated. Upon notification from Interior Health of a positive case, the team collects all necessary information and provide it to Interior Health who investigates to determine close contacts.
Interior Health then notifies the School District who the close contacts are. The District then issues letters of notification to staff and families whose child has been identified as a close contact. Those students and staff then follow the instructions from Interior Health to self-isolate. In order to provide accurate communication, all families from the Golden Community schools received notification of the case.
“School District 6 is has detailed safety plans and thorough cleaning protocols in place that are guided by the Provincial Health Office and the Ministry of Education,” read the statement.
“The protocols are working; there have been no transmission of COVID 19 in our schools. We continue to monitor our plans and revise as new information and new science is introduced from the Provincial Health Office and the Ministry of Education.”
If a student or teacher receives a confirmed positive COVID-19 test result, IH starts contact tracing to determine how the person was infected and who they were in close contact with.
Through this process, they 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.
IH works closely with the school and school district throughout the case and contact tracing process to maintain close communication with the school community.
IH public health determines close contacts of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 using specific criteria, based on likelihood of transmission.
