Quesnel School District schools are detecting COVID-19 cases left and right.
Superintendent Sue-Ellen Miller said the district will be announcing three exposures of the virus in their schools between May 4 – 7. The cases were at Correlieu High School, a second case at Quesnel Junior School and Barlow Creek Elementary School.
“With all of the cases we’ve notified in the community, we’ve not seen transmission inside the schools,” Miller said. “These tend to be cases where a student or staff member has been exposed in the community and once the school is notified, we’ve not had a follow up case.”
The second exposure at Quesnel Junior School (QJS) occurred between May 5 and May 7, overlapping with the previous exposure, which is listed as occurring on May 4 and 5.
READ MORE: Quesnel Junior School flagged as latest COVID-19 exposure in School District 28
“The safety and well-being of our students, families, and staff remains our highest priority,” the school said in a Facebook post. “Please be reassured that our school will continue to implement the strict protocols and procedures we have in place so that children can continue to attend school as safely as possible.”
Miller noted the school doesn’t know who tested positive, only passing along there has been a case inside the school, leaving the contact tracing to public health. Miller said she received notice of the exposure at QJS at 9:41 a.m., and it was up on the school’s facebook page before 11:00 a.m.
“As cases in the community are identified, often people are connected to the school, whether it be students or staff,” she said.
Northern Health spokesperson Eryn Collins said an outbreak would only be declared if emergency measures are needed to control cases.
“School closure is rarely necessary measure,” she said in an email. “With preventive measures in place (i.e. cohorting, screening, etc.), risk of transmission in school is reduced.”
Northern Health asks parents and students to carefully monitor for COVID-19 symptoms if there has been an exposure event in the last two weeks at their school.
Key symptoms of coronavirus include cough, fever, chills, loss of taste and smell, nausea, diarrhea and shortness of breath.
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