Island’s first case of COVID-19 in a school reported in Port Alberni

Vancouver Island’s first case of COVID-19 in a school setting has been confirmed at Alberni Secondary School.

The person was last at the school on Sept. 22, and the dates of potential exposure are Sept. 14, 15, 17, 18 and 22. It was not specified whether the person was a student or a staff member.

The case was confirmed Saturday, a general notification was sent out to the school community on Sunday and a statement was issued Monday.

The infected person was interviewed to determine when the symptoms started, the infection period and who the close contacts are, said Dr. Charmaine Enns, an Island Health medical health officer.

Public health staff then started contact tracing to identify anyone needing to self-isolate or self-monitor for COVID19 symptoms.

The tracing, completed Sunday, involved two classrooms of 30 students each, Enns said, and any staff associated with the students.

“All contacts were notified and all contacts are now being monitored daily,” she said. “Any contacts who develop symptoms, we’ll get them into testing ASAP.”

Given when the exposure window was, the contacts didn’t have a chance to self-isolate for the 14 days suggested in health guidelines. They have been asked to self-isolate until the end of today.

Anyone who isn’t called by public health should continue to attend school and monitor for COVID-19 symptoms as per B.C. Centre for Disease Control guidelines.

Being able to zero in on two classrooms for contact tracing shows the effectiveness of the way students are organized into cohorts, or learning groups, by schools, Enns said, adding that the people tested were within the cohort of the person with COVID.

The system works “by keeping kids as close to a group as possible,” she said.

Enns said that having just one COVID case found in an Island school so far is “something to celebrate.”

“We’ve got all the way through September and into October before that happened,” she said. “That speaks to how low COVID activity is on Vancouver Island.”

In a letter sent to district families, superintendent Greg Smyth and Dr. Shannon Waters, medical health officer for the Cowichan Valley region, said they recognize the news of a COVID-19 case at a school “can cause a variety of feelings and reactions.”

“We also recognize the impact COVID-19 has had on the mental health and well-being of families,” they said. “Your principal and vice-principal, as well as the resources of the of district, are available to support you.

“Please do not hesitate to reach out.”

Smyth and Waters said privacy considerations prevent giving out any further information, “however, we want to assure that our organizations are working together to maintain a safe and health school environment for students, families and staff.”