A second school in Moose Jaw has confirmed a positive case of COVID-19 in just under a week, with contact tracing now underway at Central Collegiate after public health identified an individual in a classroom who has now tested positive for the virus.
Prairie South School Division director Tony Baldwin said that public health contacted the division at 6 p.m. on Oct. 2 about the possible exposure at Central.
Central Collegiate’s principal immediately began working with public health to identify any close contact with the positive individual, and the division sent a letter to families of children and staff who could be included in that category later that night.
The entirety of Central Collegiate’s students and staff received a letter about the positive case the following morning.
“I’ve been so impressed by the work of public health and the partnership they have established at the school level and the division level,” said Baldwin. “I’m very confident in our process at the school and very appreciative this weekend of some teachers and school administration and our superintendent, who put in a bunch of extra time supporting the public health process.”
Public health will be contacting any families of students, staff, visitors or volunteers who may have been in close contact with the positive case. Parents are also encouraged to call HealthLine 811 if their children show any symptoms.
The exposure is the second to be reported at a school in Moose Jaw, with an individual from Prince Arthur Community School reported to have tested positive on Oct. 1. The Saskatchewan Health Authority also issued an exposure notice for two Moose Jaw businesses over the weekend as well.
Baldwin said the division is not yet elevating its concern level following the announcements, as it expects to see a small number of positive cases crop up. PSSD and Baldwin remain confident in the safety precautions schools have in place.
“We never want people to be sick, [whether] it's the flu or COVID, but beyond that, we certainly are expecting that there will be cases in our communities and our schools, and the process to this point has worked really well,” said Baldwin.
PSSD is not planning on adjusting any parts of its current precautions and guidelines in place, as Baldwin said the currency policies in place are working just fine and concerns would only arise if the division felt it wasn’t able to identify possible close contacts.
“The information we have from public health is that our precautions have been working effectively,” said Baldwin. “In the two cases we’ve had, the contact tracing process has been very straightforward for public health and they’ve felt as though it was successful.”
The focus for schools moving forward will remain on encouraging mask use, maintaining proper sanitation and keeping a close working relationship with public health.
“If [public health’s response] is the same throughout the province as it is in Moose Jaw, we’re in really good hands,” said Baldwin. “These folks are working hard and doing a really effective job, and I’m completely comfortable with carrying on as we are and following their lead.”
