Several people are self-isolating after a COVID-19 case was confirmed at a Moose Jaw, Sask., elementary school, says the Prairie South School Division (PSSD).
On Oct. 1, staff at Prince Arthur Community School were notified that an individual had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
“We found out just before 10 a.m., and before the end of the school day, the entire contact tracing process was finished,” said Tony Baldwin, PSSD director of education.
This is the first time the district has had to deal with a case, said Baldwin, adding that the process ran safely and efficiently.
“We have had things in place at all our schools in terms of record-keeping that we normally wouldn’t do. So if we have to respond to a contact-tracing event, we’ve got the data at our fingertips to do it, and it seemed to work out very smoothly,” Baldwin said.
It’s unknown if the person who tested positive was a child or adult, but Baldwin confirmed it’s someone “who spends quite a bit of time at Prince Arthur School.”
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“School goes on as normal,” Baldwin said. “There are some people who have been identified as close contacts, so they’ll be away for a little bit. But school looks very much the same today as it did yesterday before we found out about it.”
The school and school division have been working with public health to contact parents, guardians and any staff, visitors or volunteers who may have been in close contact with the person who tested positive.
“If you do not hear from them, your child has likely not been exposed because of the measures that are in place at the school,” Prince Arthur School principal Jackie Straub said in a letter sent to parents and guardians on Thursday.
There are 14 schools across Saskatchewan that have had cases of COVID-19 since their doors reopened, said the province’s chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.
This includes the Yorkton Regional High School, where an outbreak was declared after a cluster of students tested positive for the virus. All classes have since moved online for two weeks.
Aside from the Yorkton high school, Shahab says the province hasn’t seen clusters in any other schools.
“We always expected we would see the occasional case in the school which we have seen,” Shahab said Thursday during the provincial update.
“There has been nothing unexpected. Things are working quite well but it’s important we stay the course.”
Public health is reminding all staff and students to stay home if they are experiencing symptoms, even minor ones.
“Preventing in-school transmission begins with preventing community transmission,” said a statement from the Ministry of Health.
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