The precautionary measures regarding coronavirus have reached Vancouver Island as Glenlyon Norfolk School has closed its facility early for spring break out of concerns from the disease.
In a letter sent from the Victoria-based private school, it outlines that a member of their community has fallen ill and, based on their travel history, has been advised by to self-quarantine. According to the letter, a test has been issued and doctors are awaiting the results, however, the school didn’t want to take any chances and has closed its doors as of Tuesday.
The closure will last through the week and into spring break with classes scheduled to resume on Tuesday, March 31.
“Maintaining a sense of calm for our students, staff and the larger community is important, and the safety of everyone remains our greatest priority,” reads the letter issued by Dr. Glenn Zederayko, the Head of School. “We are hopeful that the individual has not been infected but we wanted to act quickly to safeguard our community.”
The campus is set to undergo ‘intensive treatment’ over the break as part of a deep clean. Zederayko said that the closure will apply to all sporting events, special events, and clubs slated for the remainder of this week.
The school also mentions in the letter that they are creating a contingency plan in case the closure of the private school needs to be extended and that there will be a system in place in case people need to re-enter the building to access any essential items.
There have been multiple school closures throughout BC as a result of the disease including two post-secondary institutes in downtown Vancouver. Other music and sporting events have cancelled or postponed out of fear that a COVID-19 outbreak could cause problems for event-goers.
Globally, the disease has climbed over the 130,000 mark while the death toll has reached over 4,000 worldwide.
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