Outbreaks declared at three Alberta schools, no evidence of broader transmission

Edmonton (660 NEWS) — The Alberta government has added a third school to its list of outbreaks.

Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw confirmed Thursday that St. Wilfrid School in Calgary has found two or more cases of COVID-19 in its facility.

This joins Henry Wise Wood High School and Chinook High School in Lethbridge who were confirmed to have outbreaks of COVID-19 late Wednesday.

Hinshaw says while it is two people in each school with no evidence of broader transmission, they are nevertheless acting out of an abundance of caution.

Hinshaw talking about schools saying she knows this is top of minds of people. There are three school outbreaks:
– Henry Wise Wood High School, Calgary
– St. Wilfrid School, Calgary
– Chinook High School, Lethbridge

— Jeff Slack (@Jeffslack660) September 10, 2020

“I want to stress that while we are calling these outbreaks, this is a very cautious use of the term,” Hinshaw said.

“We are acting out of an abundance of caution by treating two cases who are in a school while infectious within a 14-day span as an outbreak.”

Alberta Health Services is working with the schools to limit any risk of spread by assessing the classrooms and identifying close contacts of the people who have COVID-19.

The principal of Wise Wood issued a letter to parents stating students have been breaking physical distancing rules and not wearing masks when needed.

Deputy Education Minister Andre Corbould says they are in direct communication with the superintendents and the school districts to see how they can alleviate these issues.

“The [education] minister held another discussion with all the education partners yesterday. This was a part of the discussion,” He said.

“We discussed the issue and how it could be resolved and what concerns superintendents and board chairs had in those scenarios and describe several solutions of how we can, we could alleviate that.”

Outbreaks declared at 2 #Alberta schools. Henry Wise Wood HS in #Calgary & Chinook HS in #Lethbridge, both seeing 2+ cases within 2wks. HWW principal explains between horseplay & hugging, students are breaking physical distancing & masks aren’t always being worn when needed. #yyc pic.twitter.com/E1srvICoid

— Saif Kaisar (@StaySaif) September 10, 2020

Corbould added the current protocols put in place are effective as there has yet to be any form of transmission within a classroom.

Hinshaw says it’s important for parents, students and staff to take on the responsibility to stay safe.

“Schools can do a certain amount and then really the rest of us need to pick up that responsibility outside of the school environment and carry it forward,” She said.

“I would really encourage parents, particularly parents of students who are in junior and senior high, to have those conversations with their kids like they would about any kind of situation where peers might be doing something that, for that particular family, would be concerning, in this case, undertaking activities that put people at risk of COVID spread.”

Hinshaw says overall, they have confirmed 24 cases at 21 schools in the province.

The province has launched a new online map that will list every school where there have been two or more cases within a 14-day period and where the disease could have spread in the school.

-With files from the Canadian Press