Three more schools in Abbotsford had COVID-19 exposures from Nov. 18 to 23, according to Fraser Health.
The two private schools and one public school recorded exposures on numerous days over the five-day period.
Abbotsford Traditional Senior Secondary had cases on Nov. 17, 18, 19 and 20; Abbotsford Christian on Nov. 18, 19, 20 and 23; and Mennonite Educational Institute on Nov. 18, 19 and 20.
The exposures at Abbotsford Christian School follow the middle school temporariliy closing down on Nov. 16, after recording six cases in a single day.
All students and staff were asked to self-isolate until Nov. 23 in a letter to families on Nov. 15. It said Fraser Health identified “several COVID-19 cases that cross multiple cohorts.”
MEI had a previous exposure at the end of October, but this is a first for the public school school.
An “exposure event” is defined on the health authority’s website as “a single person with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection who attended school during their infectious period.”
“Exposure events” are the most contained of such classifications, followed by “cluster events” (two or more individuals are infected), and “outbreak events” (infection and transmission are widespread).
A notification does not mean that other children at the school have been exposed to COVID-19.
If parents do not receive a phone call or letter from Public Health, their child should continue to attend school.
The COVID-19 school notification process consists of the following protocols:
• Contact tracing is initiated to determine how the individual was infected and who they were in close contact with.
• Close contacts who may be at an increased risk are identified and notified, and they are advised to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days.
• Public Health determines who is a close contact. Learning groups, friends or other connections may be determined to not be a close contact.
• Public Health staff works closely with the school and school district throughout the case and contact management process to maintain close communication with the school community.
– With files from Vikki Hopes
