Northern Health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at St. Ann’s School in Quesnel after COVID-19-positive cases were identified among staff and students.
To date, 27 cases of COVID-19 are associated with the outbreak, the result of several smaller clusters of cases. Outbreak-associated cases are those who had tested positive and were in the school setting during their potentially infectious period, but does not mean they acquired COVID-19 in the school environment.
St. Ann’s School will remain closed to in-person instruction while Northern Health undertakes case and contact management. The school has been voluntarily closed since November 10, 2021, and Public Health is collaborating with the school and the Catholic Independent Schools Kamloops Diocese as part of the outbreak response.
In a school environment, if a student or teacher receives a confirmed positive COVID-19 test result, Northern Health follows a rigorous protocol, including:
- Contact tracing to determine how the individual was infected and who they were in close contact with in order to advise for self-monitoring or isolation
- Working closely with the school and school district to maintain close communication with the school community
- Posting details of school exposures online after exposure letters have been circulated to one or more contacts within the school.
View more information on public exposures, school exposures, and facility or community outbreaks of COVID-19 within the Northern Health region.
Everyone ages 12 and over is eligible to register for and receive their COVID-19 immunization, and parents of children ages 5 to 11 are encouraged to register now to be notified when it is time to book an appointment.