Chilliwack elementary school closed due to 20 COVID-19 cases
Posted September 22, 2021 10:33 pm.
Last Updated September 23, 2021 6:30 pm.
CHILLIWACK (NEWS 1130) — A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at Promontory Heights Elementary School, forcing the school to close until at least Oct. 3, effective immediately.
In a release sent to parents and staff at the Chilliwack school, Fraser Health says all unvaccinated staff and students from the affected grades are to self-isolate at home, while all others affected will receive self-monitoring instructions.
On Thursday, Fraser Health said there were 20 positive COVID-19 cases among staff and students connected to the outbreak.
The health authority says it is now reviewing the school’s COVID-19 safety plans.
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The announcement of an outbreak comes as British Columbia recorded 759 new cases on Wednesday, with 10 new deaths in the past 24 hours.
If your child attends Promontory Heights, Fraser Health is advising all children who may have symptoms of COVID-19 to be tested.
“Public Health is working in collaboration with the school and school district to ensure that it is safe to return to school on October 3, 2021. You will receive additional communication closer to that time to verify that it is safe to return,” the statement reads.
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist based at Toronto General Hospital, says we might see more school closures in the future as the Delta variant continues to spread throughout the country.
He says the higher the COVID-19 cases in the community, the higher chance it will be in the school setting.
“It’s going to happen, we all know it’s going to happen, obviously there might be additional steps that can be taken to prevent it from happening,” he said.
Bogoch says higher vaccination rates help considerably.
“This is really a wake-up call for under vaccinated communities and quite frankly leadership of under vaccinated communities to really step up and start looking at different ways to promote vaccination in those settings,” he said.
