COVID-19 exposure reported at Suwilaawks Community School in Terrace

A COVID-19 exposure has been recorded at Suwilaawks Community School in Terrace.

The exposure occurred between Nov. 27 and Nov. 30, according to a bulletin on Northern Health’s website. Northern Health does not release details about school exposures, such as the number of cases associated with the exposure.

This is the second known exposure at a school in Terrace. The first exposure took place between Nov. 23 and Nov. 26 at Centennial Christian School. There have been numerous school exposures elsewhere in the Northern Health Authority.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 exposure recorded at Centennial Christian School in Terrace

In a Dec. 4 letter, Northern Health said that the COVID-19 safety plan was followed precisely and the risk of more cases is “very low.”

“COVID-19 has a very low infection rate in children, and most are not at high risk,” the letter states. “[Northern Health] public health staff follows up directly with anyone who is identified as a close contact of a lab confirmed case. It is important to note that close contact is a person who has been in direct, face-to-face contact for prolonged periods of time with an infectious case.”

The letter states that if children have no symptoms and have not been contacted by Northern Health, they do not need to self-isolate. Testing is not recommended by Northern Health if there are no symptoms, but parents are asked to monitor their children for symptoms until Dec. 14, which is two weeks from the last possible date of contact with the confirmed case.

“Our district is committed to transparency and we will continue to notify school communities of COVID-19 exposures at our schools as soon as public health directs us to do so,” said Janet Meyer, Coast Mountains School District 82 superintendent, on the school district’s website.

— With files from Jake Wray