Interior Health has reported potential COVID-19 exposures at the Fernie Academy.
According to the health authority, there were potential COVID-19 exposures at the independent Fernie school on Thursday Jan. 21, and Friday Jan. 22.
IH reported the exposures on Jan. 28.
School exposure notifications are only publicized by IH if a student or a member of staff test positive for COVID-19, and was present at the school when they were infectious.
Anyone deemed to be at risk as a close contact will have been contacted by IH, but Head of The Fernie Academy, Jocelyn Sombrowski said that thanks to “extraordinary safety precautions”, no students or faculty had been identified as close contacts.
“The Fernie Academy thanks Interior Health for their support and guidance,” she said.
The school’s listing as a site of a potential COVID-19 exposure will be removed after 14 days, when the risk of transmission has passed.
IH did not, and will not release any information on how many people were potentially exposed, or on the individual (or individuals) who tested positive.
The potential exposures took place before the declaration of a community cluster of COVID-19 cases on Jan. 27.
The cluster in the Fernie local health area has risen to 98 confirmed cases, of which only 24 were reported to remain positive and in isolation as of Feb. 2.
READ MORE: Fernie COVID-19 cluster update: Seven new cases, but active cases down to 24
scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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