Cooper’s Crossing School has been placed on “watch” status by the Alberta government after multiple people at the school tested positive for COVID-19.
“We currently have seven individuals directly associated with the school who have tested positive in the past two weeks,” principal Todd Hennig wrote in an Oct. 5 update on the school’s website.
Hennig said the school is working closely with AHS to ensure the necessary precautions are taken to protect students and staff. For privacy reasons, the school will not be sharing more information about the individuals who tested positive.
According to information accompanying the Alberta government’s interactive COVID-19 school status map on alberta.ca, a watch is declared if a school outbreak increases to five or more cases “where disease could have been acquired or transmitted in the school.”
When a school is placed under watch, it remains open with some public health measures, and the government monitors the risk while working with the school, the school authority and Alberta Health Services (AHS).
According to Hennig’s letter, Cooper’s Crossing School remains open for in-class learning.
Families were first notified by letter that an outbreak had been declared at the school Oct. 2, after two cases had been confirmed. According to alberta.ca, “an outbreak is declared when there are two or more confirmed cases in a school setting within a 14 day period where disease could have been acquired or transmitted in the school.”
“Public health staff are investigating to determine who may have been exposed at your school to cases of COVID-19 during their infectious period,” an Oct. 2 letter from AHS said. “The virus is passed from person to person by large, respiratory droplets, like from a cough or sneeze. This means that a person would need to have direct contact with droplets from a sick person or surfaces they have recently touched.”
In a statement, Rocky View Schools (RVS) said it has been working closely with AHS to ensure the necessary precautions are taken at the school to limit the spread of the virus, and the safety and well-being of students and staff is the division’s top priority.
“Completing the Daily Health Check and staying home when sick continues to be an important health and safety strategy at Cooper's Crossing and all RVS schools. We thank parents, students and staff for their ongoing cooperation,” the statement said.
Hennig, meanwhile, wished anyone impacted by the positive cases a speedy recovery.
“[We] look forward to their return to school when they are well and it is safe. Thank you for your understanding and co-operation.”
As of Oct. 6, Cooper’s Crossing is one of 10 schools in Alberta under a watch. Two more are located in Calgary and seven are in Edmonton.
Since classes began on in early September, five other schools in RVS have reported positive cases of COVID-19 in their midst. In Airdrie, W.H. Croxford High School and A.E. Bowers Elementary School were each confirmed to have a case, along with Sarah Thompson School in Langdon, RancheView School in Cochrane and Prince of Peace Lutheran School near Chestermere.
Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @Jay_Strickz
