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COVID-19 exposure event at Chilliwack’s Capella Dance Academy

Fraser Health sent a formal letter to families informing them of a COVID diagnosis in the building
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At the entrance to Chilliwack’s Capella Dance Academy, dancers and parents are asked to sanitize their hands and practice physical distancing. (Facebook photo)

A letter has been sent to families involved with Chilliwack’s Capella Dance Academy, informing them of a COVID-19 case within the building.

Capella owner Sarah Sturrus-Wood has confirmed that she has the virus, and Fraser Health said in a letter that potential exposure might have occurred on Oct. 21 and 22, between 2:30 and 10 p.m. on both days.

The owner of Capella Dance Academy in Chilliwack has tested positive for COVID-19 leading to an exposure notice to be sent out by Fraser Health to families potentially affected. (Paul Henderson/ Chilliwack Progress)
Sturrus-Wood said she has not been in the studio since those dates.

The letter recommends that anyone who was at the studio on those days and times monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 until Nov. 5, 14 days after the last exposure date.

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“We have confirmed that a person has COVID-19,” the Fraser Health letter noted. “This virus is spread between people by droplets. This means you need to be close enough to be exposed to saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose, or throat of the infected person.

“We are being extra careful to let people know because, while small, there is a chance you could have been exposed to the virus.”

Sturrus-Wood sent her own email to Capella families, thanking them for their “love and support and kind words” and saying her symptoms “have been minimal.”

While Fraser Health didn’t ask her to close the studio, she is doing so anyways.

“If you or your children aren’t feeling well, please get tested,” Sturrus-Wood requested. “Being proactive is all we have.”

Parents with kids who attended Capella say the exposure event is surprising because it happened despite the fact that the academy practised strict COVID-19 protocols, stricter even than public schools, including masks in common spaces, no adults in the studio, physical distancing, staggered classes.


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eric.welsh@theprogress.com

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Eric Welsh

About the Author: Eric Welsh

I joined the Chilliwack Progress in 2007, originally hired as a sports reporter.
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