Contact tracing is underway at an Esquimalt elementary school after a potential COVID-19 exposure.
On Jan. 26, parents, guardians and staff received a letter from Island Health, warning that a member of the Ecole Macaulay Elementary School community had tested positive for the virus and was now in isolation.
The letter says potential dates of exposure were Jan. 20 to 22.
Parent Jeremy Smith says his child was in the same playgroup as the infected student and he now has to quarantine until Feb. 5.
Smith, who is a member of the Armed Forces, has a heart condition. He worries about the length of time between the exposure and the notification.
“We didn’t find out until about one week later,” he said. “That needs to be tightened up … now because I’ve possibly been exposed, a whole unit could be shut down.”
The Greater Victoria School District says Island Health notified it of the exposure on Jan. 26, the same day notification was given to families and staff.
Island Health’s COVID-19 school notification process starts with contact-tracing and the identification of close contacts who may be at increased risk. Notifications are not performed if the student or staff member is determined not to have been at school when they were infectious.
Island Health says public health staff work closely with the school district and school throughout the case management process.
READ ALSO: Island Health warns of whooping cough at Esquimalt’s Macaulay Elementary
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