There has been another COVID-19 exposure reported within School District 71.
On Jan. 11, Dr. Dee Hoyano, medical health officer with Island Health, and school superintendent Tom Demeo sent out a letter to the Miracle Beach Elementary School community to say someone in the school community had tested positive for COVID-19. The person has been isolated and their progress is being monitored by the health authority.
The letter was sent to parents, guardians, families and staff. at Miracle Beach.
“Receiving this letter does not mean your child has been exposed to COVID-19. The intent of the letter is to share information with the school community and advise you on next steps being taken by Island Health,” the letter states.
These next steps include calls from Island Health to anyone identified as needing to self-isolate for 14 days from when they were exposed and letters sent out to people asked to self-monitor. These latter people may continue to attend school. As well, anyone not contacted by health authorities should continue to attend school and monitor themselves for any symptoms.
The notice indicates the time frame for potential exposure as Jan. 4 to 8. The exposure did not occur at the school but rather on a school bus route. The letter continues by saying that Island Health has completed contact tracing to identify staff or students who would need to self-isolate and monitor for any symptoms. It also notes that beyond the details provided about the potential exposure, health and school official cannot give out any further information for privacy reasons.
RELATED STORY: COVID-19 exposure in Comox Valley school
The previous day, Island Health announced a school community member from NIDES/Navigation Distance Education at Smith Road, north of Courtenay, had tested positive for the coronavirus. Any exposure was limited to the distance learning program operating at the Tsolum campus and did not affect the general student population.
The latest case at Miracle Beach was the seventh exposure in Vancouver Island school communities since Jan. 4. There is more information about school exposures online at islandhealth.ca/learn-about-health/covid-19/exposures-schools
mike.chouinard@comoxvalleyrecord.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.