A COVID-19 exposure has been confirmed by Island Health at Northridge Elementary School in Saanich.
According to the Greater Victoria School District, members of the school community who were in the building located at 4190 Carey Rd. on April 19 may have been exposed to the virus. On Friday evening, the school district said notification letters had been delivered to the students and staff, but only those contacted directly by the health authority will be required to self-isolate.
Northridge Elementary School has experienced a COVID-19 exposure. The date of potential exposure occurred on April 19, 2021. If an individual may have been exposed, Island Health will contact them directly. Notification letters have been sent to the school community. pic.twitter.com/Bv7glBAeSe
— Greater Victoria SD (@sd61schools) April 24, 2021
Island Health classifies an “exposure” as an incident when one student or staff member with a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19 attended the campus while infectious. In the event of a positive COVID-19 case at a school, the health authority conducts contact tracing and reaches out to those with a high-risk of exposure. Families who do not hear from the health authority can continue to send their child to school if they have no symptoms.
Everyone is asked to continue self-monitoring for symptoms, which include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose, loss of sense of smell or taste, headache, fatigue, diarrhea, loss of appetite, nausea and muscle aches. Students displaying even mild symptoms should be kept home.
A COVID-19 exposure was also reported at another Saanich school – Pacific Christian Elementary – on Thursday. Staff and students who attended the school April 12 may have been exposed.
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