Two Saskatoon schools have had positive cases of novel coronavirus, according to the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) on Wednesday.
The COVID-19-positive individuals are at St. Mark School on 414 Pendygrasse Rd. in the Fairhaven neighbourhood and Bethlehem Catholic High School at 110 Bowlt Cres in the Blairmore SC area, according to a press release.
The school division said it was not sharing any other details to protect privacy of individuals.
GCSC added it’s working with public health to inform parents and caregivers, and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is conducting contact tracing.
“These cases early in the school year remind us that we all have a shared responsibility to decrease the risk of COVID-19 entering schools,” read a statement from GSCS.
“Students and families are reminded to be diligent in performing the daily health screening, stay home if you are ill, call HealthLine 811 if you are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, practice proper hand hygiene, maintain physical distancing as much as possible, wear a mask when appropriate, and do all we can to keep each other safe.”
Students in the province went back to class for the 2020-21 school year on Sept. 8.
The Saskatchewan government has said an outbreak would be declared for a school if two or more people test COVID-19 positive and are all linked to a specific school setting within a specified time period. No outbreak was declared for either school as of Wednesday evening.
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.
Comments