A coronavirus outbreak has been declared at Adam Scott Collegiate and Vocational Institute, however, the Peterborough intermediate and high school remains open.
Principal Wilf Gray said Wednesday that Peterborough Public Health has declared an outbreak. On Monday a fourth student at the school tested positive for COVID-19.
Three students “known to each other” in late September tested positive, and up to 40 students and staff were asked to self-isolate. the health unit reported. None of the cases required hospitalization.
Outbreaks are declared when the health unit believes there is evidence that at least one case could have been reasonably acquired within the school. However, Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, medical officer of health, says the fourth case’s source of acquisition has yet to be determined and so with an “abundance of caution,” an outbreak was declared.
“We have declared an outbreak as we cannot rule out that transmission did not occur within the school,” Salvaterra said during a noontime media conference on Wednesday. “All high-risk contacts have been identified. In fact, many of them have been able to safely return.”
A group of students were sent home Monday (an exact number was not provided). Test results are pending on the high-risk contacts and they can return to school once they have been cleared with a negative test result, Salvaterra said.
Gray and Salvaterra say the school remains open. Salvaterra said school staff and bus drivers have been fully compliant with wearing face shields and were “determined to be low-risk contacts and allowed to continue in their roles.”
“If we were having difficulty controlling the outbreak, that would be a reason to close the school,” said Salvaterra. “But that hasn’t been the case, actually… Many of the excluded high-risk contacts have already returned and they cleared their incubation period and are back in school.
“So in fact we don’t need to close the school; we’ve only had the one transmission where we can’t link it to a close contact or any other exposure.”
The health unit says it has identified and contacted all close contacts related to the confirmed cases and continues to have daily followups.
All students and staff at the school are being asked to continue to self-monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19; this includes completing the daily self-assessment for symptoms.
Gray says the health unit will be providing some short-term directions regarding further limiting student and staff contacts and limiting visitors.
Signs will be posted on school doors identifying the current outbreak status.
“We continue to implement our enhanced daily pandemic cleaning protocols, and regular disinfection of our school with the electrostatic sprayer,” said Gray. “At this time, PPH would like to remind members of the ASCVI school community to limit contact with others and remain only in close contact with household members.”
A COVID-19 case was also reported last week at Highland Heights Public School in Peterborough.
— More to come.