Fraser-Cascade School District (SD78) has experienced its first COVID-19 exposure event after nearly two months with no reported cases.
An early notification letter from Fraser Health dated Nov. 1 has landed in several e-mail inboxes across Hope. It explains that an individual confirmed to have COVID-19 was at Hope Secondary School and Fraser Health is taking the next steps.
“Public Health is following up on this exposure according to school-based guidelines similar to those in other workplaces and community settings,” the letter reads.
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It goes on to say that those who received the letter have not received it necessarily because they’ve been exposed to COVID-19 and that any cases have been isolated and there is no direct exposure risk at this time.
Fraser Health has initiated contact tracing to identify potential individuals in the school that would need to self-isolated or monitor for symptoms. Only those who have been identified as needing to self-isolate for 14 days will receive a phone call from Fraser Health. Fraser Health may send letters to students and staff who will need to self-monitor for symptoms. Those advised to self-monitor may still continue to attend school while watching for symptoms.
Again, receiving this early notification email does not mean you will need to take further action; only those directly exposed to COVID-19 as a result of this event will be contacted to self-monitor or self-isolate.
Fraser Health advises those who are able and without symptoms compatible to COVID-19 to continue attending school.
Superintendent of schools in SD78 Balan Moorthy said the school district continues to take directions from public health and are following their protocols very closely. “While this is the first incident in our district, we are very confident that our schools have managed their health and safety protocols very well,” he stated in an email to Black Press Media Monday.
The Hope Secondary exposure notification comes amid several letters coming in from nearby Chilliwack School District, where at least 12 Chilliwack schools have experienced exposure events.
-With files from Emelie Peacock
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