Nanaimo secondary school added to COVID-19 exposure list

CHEK

A Nanaimo secondary school has become the latest addition to Island Health’s COVID-19 exposure list.

According to the health authority, the exposure has been reported at Wellington Secondary School.

The reported exposure at Wellington – located at 3135 Mexicana Rd. in Nanaimo– occurred on March 29 and 30.

According to Island Health, exposure is defined as a single person with a lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection who attended school during their infectious period.

In addition to Wellington Secondary, Island Health has one other facility currently on its School Exposures list.

Earlier this week, Vancouver Island’s health authority warned students, parents and staff to expect rising school exposures in the coming weeks due to a surge in COVID-19 cases over spring break.

letter sent from Island Health to various school districts on March 28 warned that the region has been “experiencing a higher number of coronavirus cases in the past few weeks,” many of which have reported higher-than-normal social contacts while infectious.

As such, the health authority is asking parents and guardians to remind their kids of proper safety protocols, including frequent hand-washing, physical distancing and mask-wearing.

Island Health notes that if a parent or guardian sees a notification on the health authority’s school exposure site, it does not necessarily mean their child has been exposed to COVID-19.

Island Health outlines that Public Health members work with the school and school district to ensure close contacts are notified directly and provided specific guidance.

If a parent or guardian does not receive a phone call or letter from Public Health, a child can continue to attend school, Island Health notes.

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