Some students from Armstrong’s Pleasant Valley Secondary School have been exposed to COVID-19.
Principal Chelsea Prince issued a letter to parents Monday, Nov. 2, stating it came to the school’s attention over the weekend that some students were exposed to an individual with a confirmed case of COVID-19 at a Halloween party.
The party was not at the school.
“Stories about this party are circulating in the community, and we have received some concerned calls from parents,” said Prince. “The students who were exposed have been in contact with the school and are currently not attending.”
As of Tuesday morning, PVSS and School District No. 83 had received no contact or direction from Interior Health regarding how this may affect the school, if at all.
“We continue to follow our School Safety Plan and Ministry guidelines to keep our students and staff safe,” said Prince, adding Interior Health takes the lead on all confirmed COVID-19 cases, and will only notify PVSS or the school district if there is a potential exposure at the school.
Interior Health issued the following statement early Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 3: “We currently have no confirmed COVID-19 cases in members of Pleasant Valley Secondary School community and no exposure event occurred in the school setting. We did, however, connect with the school yesterday afternoon. Any school exposures will be posted to the Interior Health public website and IH public health would be in direct contact with the school.
“We can say that we are investigating a community event (party) where a case of COVID-19 was present. As per our normal investigation, the CDU is following up directly with close contacts. To protect the privacy of any individuals impacted, we cannot provide additional details.”
Prince said in her letter that there are well-laid out protocols for schools and school districts to follow related to confirmed or alleged COVID-19 cases.
PVSS’s school-based protocols include:
- wearing a mask when entering the building, while in the hallway or in a common space (i.e. main office, library, counselling & career centre), and while on buses;
- staying in cohorts, using assigned eating areas, and entering and exiting the school through the appropriate doors;
- following the physical distancing requirements, and;
- practising effective hand hygiene.
This story has been updated on Tuesday, Nov. 3, to include statement from Interior Health
READ MORE: B.C. reports 6 new COVID-19 deaths and a record-breaking 1,120 cases over the weekend
@VernonNewsroger@vernonmorningstar.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
