UPDATE: 2:25 p.m.
Yet another case of COVID-19 has been identified among a member of a Central Okanagan school.
Following an announcement earlier Sunday that several new cases had been identified at Kelowna Secondary School and École Dr. Knox Middle School, another single case has been found at École Glenrosa Middle School.
“They are self-isolating at home with support from local public health teams,” School District 23 said in a press release. “Interior Health follows up with anyone potentially exposed to a confirmed case directly through contact tracing.”
It’s unclear if the new positive case is a student or staff member at the school.
Despite hundreds of COVID-19 exposures at B.C. schools, there are currently no active outbreaks at any B.C. schools. An outbreak is declared when transmission of the virus is identified within the school.
The only school outbreak in the province, at Kelowna’s École de L’Anse-au-sable, was declared over last week.
ORIGINAL: 12:35 p.m.
More COVID-19 exposures have recently occurred in Kelowna schools.
Sunday afternoon, School District 23 released a statement about new COVID-19 cases identified among people at Kelowna Secondary School and École Dr. Knox Middle School.
The school district says multiple members of the KSS community have recently tested positive for the virus, but the number of new cases has not been disclosed. The cases come after three members of KSS tested positive last week.
“The health authority confirmed these cases are related to social interactions outside of the school environment and they are not related to any previously identified cases from Kelowna Secondary School,” School District 23 said in a statement.
“They are self-isolating at home with support from local public health teams. Interior Health follows up with anyone potentially exposed to a confirmed case directly through contact tracing.”
In a letter to parents, the school district said the individuals were at the school from Nov. 2-4.
Additionally, a single new case of the virus has been identified among a member of the École Dr. Knox Middle School community. This is the first confirmed case of the virus at the local middle school.
The new cases come after a week of multiple new cases across several schools in Kelowna, including at Okanagan Mission Secondary, St. Joseph Elementary, Springvalley Elementary and KLO Middle School.
The outbreak at Kelowna’s École de L’Anse-au-sable declared last month was officially declared over this past week, after growing to seven confirmed cases. It remains the only outbreak declared in a B.C. school so far.
An outbreak is declared in a school when transmission within the school is confirmed.
Last week, Supt. Kevin Kaardal said cases of COVID-19 popping up in local schools was “inevitable,” but the schools have measures in place to minimize the risks of outbreaks developing.
