THUNDER BAY – Public health authorities are investigating potential COVID-19 exposures affecting several classes at a Thunder Bay elementary school.
In a statement issued Sunday afternoon, Lakehead Public Schools warned of an unspecified number of "cases of COVID-19 impacting several class cohorts” at McKellar Park Central Public School.
The board declined to provide further details Sunday, citing privacy concerns.
There is no evidence the virus had spread in the school setting, its statement advised.
According to provincial guidelines, that means the exposures are not officially considered an outbreak. The guidelines require at least two linked cases within a 14-day period, with at least one that could reasonably have been acquired in the school setting for an outbreak to be declared.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit continues to investigate the exposures for contacts within the school and related settings, the board said, specifically mentioning bus transportation. That investigation could result in additional measures.
“Parents or caregivers of students in an impacted class/cohort will be contacted directly by a public health nurse and given instructions about what they need to do,” the board stated.
Those individuals and anyone else identified as a close contact will be required to stay home and not return to the school setting until cleared by public health.
Anyone not contacted is not considered a close contact and does not require testing, the board advised.
