Students in a Grade 5 class at Hillcrest Elementary School have been directed to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms after a member of the school community tested positive for the virus.
On Oct. 26, the Salmon Arm school posted a notice on its website stating Interior Health had notified School District 83 that the class was asked to self-monitor until Thursday, though students and staff could continue attending unless symptoms develop. The potential exposure would have occurred between Oct. 12 and 14.
As of Oct. 27, Interior Health’s school exposure notification website had Oct. 14 as the date of the potential exposure event (schools/dates are removed after 14 days). Exposure notifications are posted when a staff member or a student attends school while infectious and there is a possible risk of exposure.
The notification from Hillcrest explains the virus is spread by respiratory droplets – when a person coughs or sneezes, and may also be spread by touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands.
COVID-19 exposure https://t.co/eJTUZY9uYV
— School District 83 (@sd83schools) October 27, 2021
“When there is an exposure, Interior Health will directly notify confirmed close contacts of the positive case with further instructions, including if they should self-isolate or self-monitor for symptoms of illness,” reads the notice. “If you are contacted by Interior Health, or receive a self-isolation/self-monitor letter, it is imperative that you follow their direction carefully.
“The most important thing for students and families to remember is that students who have any symptoms of COVID-19 should stay home and get tested.”
Four other schools in SD83 were on the health authority’s COVID-19 exposures page as of the 27th: Shuswap Middle School, with potential COVID-19 exposures occurring between Oct. 18-21; South Broadview Elementary, Oct. 18-21; M.V. Beattie, Oct. 15, and 18-21; and Grindrod Elementary, Oct. 14, 15, 18 and 19.
Two local independent schools were also listed: Kings Christian School, Oct. 14, 15, 18, 19, and 20; and Shuswap Seventh Day Adventist School, Oct. 14.
Read more: Council to consider mandatory vaccine policy for Salmon Arm council, staff on Nov. 15
Read more: COVID-19: North Okanagan-Shuswap parents concerned with timeliness of exposure reporting
lachlan@saobserver.net
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