Five more Abbotsford schools have been added to Fraser Health’s list of exposures, while seven schools previously listed have had additional exposures.
The News’ last update on Dec. 16 showed 21 out of 46 public schools on Fraser Health’s list, along with two private schools. That number has shrunk to 17 public school and two private schools as of Dec. 21.
Five public schools and both private schools have had exposures since our last report five days ago.
RELATED: Almost half of Abbotsford’s public schools record COVID-19 exposures since Dec. 1
| List of COVID-19 exposures at Abbotsford public schools as of Dec. 21. |
| List of COVID-19 exposures at Abbotsford private schools as of Dec. 21. |
An “exposure event” is defined on the health authority’s website as “a single person with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection who attended school during their infectious period.”
“Exposure events” are the most contained of such classifications, followed by “cluster events” (two or more individuals are infected), and “outbreak events” (infection and transmission are widespread).
A notification does not mean that other children at the school have been exposed to COVID-19.
If parents do not receive a phone call or letter from Public Health, their child should continue to attend school.
The COVID-19 school notification process consists of the following protocols:
• Contact tracing is initiated to determine how the individual was infected and who they were in close contact with.
• Close contacts who may be at an increased risk are identified and notified, and they are advised to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days.
• Public Health determines who is a close contact. Learning groups, friends or other connections may be determined to not be a close contact.
• Public Health staff works closely with the school and school district throughout the case and contact management process to maintain close communication with the school community.