On Thursday the Saskatchewan Health Authority declared an outbreak after two positive cases of COVID-19 were connected to St. Michael Community School in Prince Albert.
After consultation with Public Health officials, all students from St. Michael Community School will move to Level 4 remote learning effective Friday, Dec.11.
The move to Level 4 comes just two days after all high schools were moved to online-only learning. After that announcement on Tuesday, Catholic School Division director of education Lorel Trumier emphasised how things move quickly because of COVID-19.
“COVID is very real and it’s very dynamic and fluid here in terms of how things are working and so we are trying to respond to the emerging health risks and needs in our community based on health information at this time,” she explained.
This measure is in response to the increased rates of community transmission and potential exposures of COVID-19 and Public Health recommendations.
There will be no in-person classes until Jan. 4, 2021, barring any other cases.
The division stated in a release that communication of the outbreak has been shared with specific classes and cohorts, as well as the school community.
The SHA is proceeding with their assessment of the situation, and all individuals deemed to be close contacts are being notified. The classes and cohorts impacted by this case, barring any other cases, are required to self-isolate as per Public Health instructions.
No further information was made available citing privacy concerns.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with this member of our school community, and we hope they are doing well,” the school division said in a press release.
They emphasized that everyone has a shared responsibility to decrease the risk of COVID-19 entering schools.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to be diligent in performing daily health screening, staying home if ill, calling HealthLine 811 if exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, practicing proper hand hygiene, maintaining physical distancing as much as possible, wearing a mask when appropriate and doing everything we can to keep each other safe,” the release stated.
