Two students at Briercrest College and Seminary are in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 after one of them arrived infected on campus at the start of the new school year.
All students and staff taking part in Briercrest’s check-in day on Sept. 7 wore masks, practised physical distancing, and underwent health screening upon arriving on campus. As part of the college’s mandatory testing policy, students were tested — if possible — before coming to campus, according to the college website.
One student arrived only a few hours before receiving the test results. Once the results were known, school administrators immediately isolated the student for 14 days and carried out contact tracing. That tracing revealed another student had been in close contact, so that second student was also placed in quarantine. Both are now receiving ongoing care and support while attending classes online.
The other 150 seminary students attending the Caronport-based school are also conducting their learning online this semester.
The educational institution announced that two students were infected on Sept. 7.
The college developed its pandemic response plan over the summer in conjunction with the Ministry of Advanced Education, the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the local medical health officer, explained Don Taylor, provost and dean at Briercrest College and Seminary.
“We decided to be aggressive about testing because we’re a smaller school,” he said.
Students were asked to get tested before they arrived on campus, but many were unable to do so since not every province tests for asymptomatic carriers. So, the college set up testing for everyone, and before Sept. 1, the institution ensured all 175 staff and faculty were tested as well. All staff tested negative.
“The goal of the testing was to catch anyone quickly, so the testing actually worked exactly as we wanted to,” said Taylor. “I know this is a news story that’s troubling, but it’s actually perfect, because if we’d allowed a person with COVID on campus for some time, then it would have spread.”
All students have signed waivers indicating they will adhere to Briercrest’s health guidelines, including daily health screening, wearing masks, and maintaining physical distancing, the website said. For students who need to self-isolate, the college has designated a dorm space that allows them to isolate comfortably and continue with their classes online.
Health experts predict about one per cent of the Saskatchewan population could be infected with the coronavirus, so administrators at Briercrest expect the same could happen on campus, Taylor said. However, the college has the necessary health-care professionals and plan to deal with cases if they arise.
There are more than 400 high school and college students on campus this year.
It’s beneficial that the college is located in a small, remote community since that makes it less likely for a coronavirus outbreak, said Taylor. This also allows for more face-to-face interactions since the campus is spacious and spread out.
“Our students aren’t mixing with the city population and that just allows us to test everyone and create this safe bubble,” he added. “Not perfectly, of course. Students can still go to Moose Jaw from time to time for supplies … but taking the best measures we can, we’ll do our best to protect everybody.”
Briercrest College will provide weekly updates on its website at www.briercrest.ca.
