A possible exposure to COVID-19 has been reported at Ecole McIsaac School.
Provincial health officials announced the case with a form letter issued May 16, stating that somebody in the school’s blue cohort - which covers Kindergarten Larouche, Grade 2 Bedford, Grade 2 Frederick and Grade 2/3 Reitlo classes at the school - tested positive for COVID-19 and was in the cohort May 10, 11 and 13 when they may have been infectious.
“The school is working closely with public health officials and is following their recommendations. Close contacts have been identified and are advised to self-isolate along with their household members,” reads the letter.
“If you have not been contacted by the school stating your child is a potential close contact and a public health official has not contacted you, your child has not been identified as being exposed to COVID-19 from this/these cases.”
Anyone who was in the cohort, including staff and students, is asked to self-monitor for the now-traditional COVID-19 symptoms, ranging from a fever, chills, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, vomiting and the like. If those symptoms arise, people are asked to self-isolate and present for testing to Flin Flon General Hospital - public health advises the testing because it will help health workers determine whether the school is the place where the disease was transmitted. Schools or school divisions are not permitted, as per provincial policy, to provide identifying information about COVID-19 cases to the media, to members of school staff, students or to the community at large.
It is the second time a COVID-19 exposure was announced within the school’s blue cohort. A different case was announced in the cohort earlier in the school year, first being made public knowledge in November 2020. It is unknown if additional people, including students or staff, received COVID-19 from that exposure.
According to the provincial government's school COVID-19 dashboard, one case of COVID-19 each was also found at Hapnot Collegiate and at Many Faces Education Centre at some point earlier this month. According to Flin Flon School Division officials, no recent cases had been found at Hapnot, contrary to what was shown on the dashboard.
"We haven't been informed of any cases at Hapnot," said FFSD superintendent Tammy Ballantyne.
Neither of the recent Flin Flon-area COVID-19 cases are considered to be variants of concern. Other schools in the NHR that have reported recent cases include Ecole Opasquia School in The Pas and Frontier Mosakahiken School in Moose Lake/Mosakahiken Cree Nation.
No major shift to remote learning has taken place at Many Faces.
