Prairie South School Division has confirmed that there have been 16 positive COVID-19 cases in the division, with 15 of those occurring in Moose Jaw schools.
“All of these people are doing well and many have recovered and are back at school,” education director Tony Baldwin and board chair Robert Bachmann wrote in a joint letter issued Nov. 16.
Fourteen of the 16 cases involved community transmission, which means the infected students or staff were not exposed to the virus in school, the letter explained.
One case did involve a school transmission when a staff member tested positive after working in a one-on-one setting with an unmasked student later found to be COVID-19 positive. Another case involved transmission when a student tested positive after eating lunch in a car with a friend who was later tested positive. Neither student was masked.
The youngest case has been a pre-kindergarten student, while a staff member in his or her 40s has been the oldest positive case.
“While we don’t want people to be sick, the cases we have had have helped us evaluate our safety measures. We know that to this point, our cleaning and hygiene processes — including the use of masks — are working well, and we are grateful to our facility staff as well as other staff and students who have maintained focus in this area,” the letter said, adding the division has adjusted its masks protocol to align with the new provincial recommendations.
More classrooms will likely move to remote learning situations, the letter continued. While division administration is prepared to support this learning, it is also working to keep schools operating as normal as possible. It also has plans it could implement if reduced attendance becomes necessary.
An outbreak was declared on Nov. 13 in one classroom at Prince Arthur School, while a second outbreak was declared at Central Collegiate on Nov. 15. Bachmann and Baldwin explained that while public health officials assign and define the term “outbreak,” they wanted to let parents know the term is used in connection with specific circumstances to a positive case and there is no need for alarm.
The board office recently asked that all staff members refocus their commitment to keeping themselves, their families and their students safe by practising good behaviours everywhere. The board office is now making the same request to parents and the community.
“We understand that opportunities for students and families have been lost because of the COVID-19 pandemic … . (We) hope that each of you will reinforce the need for members of your family to follow the guidelines that have been put in place by the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Government of Saskatchewan,” added Baldwin and Bachmann.
“If we do this together, we can keep our schools and our families safe.”
