Ten active cases of COVID-19 have now been identified at schools within the Pembina Hills School Division, with seven in total at R.F. Staples Secondary School in Westlock.
An additional two active cases have been identified at Westlock Elementary School and one case has been identified at Eleanor Hall School in Clyde.
Last week, the Town & Country Today reported that four active cases of COVID-19 had been identified at R.F. Staples, Westlock Elementary and Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS), which forced a number of students and staff at each school to go into isolation.
Since then, the case at BCHS has been resolved and students were allowed to return to class as normal. However, the number of cases at R.F. Staples and Westlock Elementary has now risen and a new positive result has popped up at Eleanor Hall.
This is all according to an update that was posted to the Pembina Hills website on the afternoon of Oct. 26.
The update states that several class groups and staff at the three schools have been identified as close contacts of the individual cases and they are now in isolation.
It further states that Pembina Hills has been working with Alberta Health Services (AHS) to identify close contacts. In turn, AHS workers have been reaching out to families of those close contacts to inform them of their isolation requirements.
Information such as class lists, schedules and sign-in sheets are used to identify close contacts, which are generally defined as those who share a classroom with the infected person for more than 15 minutes.
Assistant Supt. of Education Services Mark Thiesen indicated in a brief interview on Oct. 26 that this process has been made considerably easier thanks to the co-operation of parents.
“It’s very helpful … that parents are calling us and saying my kid has tested positive. We can respond immediately because we know that we already have to go and pull the class list and schedules and stuff like that,” he said.
“When we do get contacted by AHS with the case number, we’re already prepared.”
While in isolation, students continue to learn from home utilizing Google Classroom and other electronic means. (In younger grades, teachers may send home print packages.)
When it comes to staff entering isolation, Pembina Hills has done its best to cover with substitute teachers and shifting around schedules.
When asked if there were specific return dates for students and staff to return from isolation, Thiesen indicated that it’s entirely dependent on when the active case was identified and when students and staff were in contact with that individual.
“It’s pretty individualized and it’s probably one of the reasons why it’s taking a little longer for AHS to keep on top of them all,” he said.