A Winnipeg high school reported the province’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the classroom on Wednesday — just the second day back to school — but a day later, students are back in class as usual.
In a bulletin late Wednesday, health officials said the confirmed case was a student at Churchill High School and used Winnipeg Transit Tuesday.
They say the student, who is in Grade 7 and Room 20 at the school, is one of 16 new cases reported by the province earlier in the day Wednesday.
Churchill principal Ryan Hughes told Global News the classroom in question is undergoing a deep clean, and staff will be working to reassure students of its safety.
“The students we’ve talked to already this morning, just as they’re coming back to school, are very understanding,” said Hughes.
“I’m sure there’s a mixture of concern and questions, but our staff do have a script that they’re going to be going over with them this morning, just to help allay any fears and concerns the students have, and assure them that it is safe to be in school.”
Hughes said the classroom had already been sanitized three times as part of the regular disinfecting routine.
“That being said, the division has sent their sanitation team and there will be further deep-clean done today in that classroom.”
Winnipeg School Division spokesperson Radean Carter said the student was asymptomatic when they arrived at school.
“If they had been tested positive, or if they had known that they had been in contact with somebody that had tested positive, they wouldn’t have gone through our second screening at the school,” she told 680 CJOB in an interview after the province made the case public.
“Of course we knew, yes, that there was going to be a first case and unfortunately it’s come really quickly.”
Investigations into the case show the student did not get the virus at school, the province said.
Provincial health officials say the student attended the school “for a limited time while asymptomatic” and cleaning protocols have commenced at the school out of an abundance of caution.
Carter said the division was notified of the case Wednesday afternoon, and a letter notifying parents, students, and guardians has been sent out.
She said public heath has said no one else in the student’s classroom or their cohort need to isolate.
“But we are still going to, in an abundance of caution, have our sanitization (and) fogging equipment go in and clean the classroom so it’s ready for students tomorrow,” Carter said.
“Our protocols are in place and we’re following them to the T.”
Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief public health officer, confirmed Thursday the student was asymptomatic and the risk of transmitting the virus was low.
He said they committed to being transparent and therefore gave the student’s school, grade and classroom.
“We knew we’d see cases in schools, and we’ll see more,” he said.
Roussin said he wasn’t sure why the student got tested, as they were not advised to go get tested and was not a close contact of a previous case.
Online provincial data shows the student was at the school from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and took Winnipeg Transit route 16 to the school at 510 Hay St. from the stop at Graham Avenue and Vaughan Street around 7:51 a.m.
Health officials say the risk is low because physical distancing was maintained at school and a mask was worn on the bus and in school the entire time.
The City of Winnipeg says the bus the student rode on was in service Tuesday morning and evening during peak periods only. The city says once it was made aware of the potential exposure, the bus was identified and thoroughly sanitized.
All employees who were in contact with the bus have been notified, and “appropriate follow-up measures are being taken,” the city said in a release sent to media shortly after the province announced the case.
The province said there are no close contacts linked to the case. No one has been advised to self-isolate, the province said, but added people should self-monitor for symptoms of the illness.
Schools across the province reopened for in-class learning starting on Tuesday.
Before classes resumed, Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, said there would be cases of COVID-19 linked to schools.
A plan for back-to-school posted to the province’s website says if a positive case is reported in a school, contact tracing would begin within 24 hours. Close contacts of a student or staff member would be advised to self-isolate and whether testing is necessary, the province said.
Health officials are also to inform the school and other parents will be notified if there was a risk the child was infectious inside the classroom.
The province also said it will be up to health officials to inform families when students can return to school after they have quarantined.
While the province originally refused to mandate masks in schools — instead, saying it preferred to “strongly recommend” them — the rules were later amended as the province saw increasing case counts in the weeks leading up to the first day back to school.
Face masks are mandatory for all students in grades 4 through 12, where physical distancing cannot be observed under the latest rules.
Manitoba’s total number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 1,365 as of Wednesday, with 404 active cases and 945 who have recovered.
Since March, 16 Mantiobans have died from the virus.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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