JEFF BELL
Times Colonist
A second Island school has a confirmed COVID-19 case.
The latest case, at Carihi Secondary in Campbell River, follows one reported at Alberni Secondary in Port Alberni last week. It hasn’t been revealed in either case whether the person infected was a student or staff member.
Island Health said the potential exposure at Carihi happened Sept. 28. Campbell River School District superintendent Jeremy Morrow said in a statement that the individual is self-isolating at home.
The health authority is undertaking contact tracing and anyone who may have been in close contact with to the person and exposed to the virus will be contacted.
A letter was sent to the school community on Thursday, as soon as the district was made aware of the exposure, Morrow said.
“The safety and well-being of students, families and staff remains or highest priority,” he said. “Carihi Secondary and School District 72 will continue to implement the strict health and safety protocols that are in place so children and staff can continue to attend school as safely as possible.”
Island Health said that an ongoing COVID-19 risk to students and staff from the recent exposure has not been identified.
“We will continue to work with the school and school districts to provide students and parents with timely information.”
The Alberni Secondary case was the first confirmed instance of COVID-19 infection at a Vancouver Island school. The person infected was last at the school on Sept. 22.
Contact tracing included two 30-student classrooms and any staff associated with the students.
Two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Island Health region on Friday, bringing the number of active cases here to 15.
A total of 119 more cases of COVID-19 were announced by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on Friday.
No new deaths were reported, so the total number of COVID-19 related fatalities remains at 245 in B.C.
Henry has said she’s cautiously optimistic that the number of COVID-19 cases is levelling off, but that people should be careful not to celebrate Thanksgiving with anyone outside of their limited contacts.
— With a file from The Canadian Press
