FORT FRANCES, Ont. – A staff member with the Rainy River District School Board has tested positive for COVID-19.
The school board provided only vague details about the timing and location of the case in a statement posted to social media Friday evening.
However, it reassured the public that students and staff had not been put at risk, citing advice from the Northwestern Health Unit.
The staff member in question was not in the region during their infectious period, and has been working from home since they received word that they may have been exposed, the board said.
“The NWHU has indicated that based on this information there is no risk to those staff and students who may have interacted with this staff member back in October,” read the statement from director of education Heather Campbell.
The statement did not disclose when the staff member travelled outside the region or was notified of possible exposure, or when the board itself learned of the exposure or positive test result.
However, it said the worker had been “very forthright and proactive.”
Responding to questions from Tbnewswatch, Campbell later clarified the staff member was informed of the exposure in late October, and immediately informed their supervisor. The board took immediate steps to have the staff member work from home at that time.
The board was informed on Friday that the staff member had just received a positive result, Campbell said. However, since the worker had not been in a board facility for over 14 days, the health unit advisedthere was no risk of exposure to any staff or student.
The board did not specify which of its 14 schools across several municipalities the staff member works at.
“For reasons of privacy, we will minimize sharing personal information about any case and encourage others to avoid identifying individuals,” its statement read.
Because the individual was not in the region at the time of their infectious period, the board said the Northwestern Health Unit had not initially been formally notified of the case.
