Dear parents,
As we are heading into the weekend, we have not received any other class exposure notice. I wish to thank all families for being cautious and keeping siblings home long enough to be sure if they are not pre-symptomatic or long enough for risk of infection to clear. Please be assured that any parent who has kept their children home during our exposure period will have work sent home and all children will have extra time to hand in any assignments before the end of the 2nd term. If your child received extra in-class support, please contact the classroom teacher if you need any additional online support.
The VCH letter clearly mentions, people with symptoms (even cold or allergy) or living with a positive or infected individual are recommended to isolate. All others who are not in direct contact or are deemed a low risk (as they wear masks or were not directly interacting during the infectious period) and are only to monitor for symptoms and to go for testing if a symptom arises. We continue to follow all recommendations of public health to maintain and stop the spread of COVID-19. As mentioned in Dr. Henry’s current update, we have an increase in community exposures.
http://cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/covid-19-update-feb-18-1.5919242
All staff self- Assess daily, and DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL with any type of illness symptoms (cold, flu, intestinal or allergies). All teachers mask daily and teach behind glass or a visor for double safety. We continue to take every precaution to keep exposures minimized. Specialist teachers also take extra precautions, as they may work with multiple learning groups. Please read the School Safety plan found at:
Please see below or the attached link of new symptoms, as now any cold or allergy symptom may also be a symptom of COVID-19.
https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/covid-19/testing
The BCCDC COVID-19 testing guidelines have been updated to reflect new evidence about COVID-19 symptoms. Some symptoms, like fever or chills, cough, loss of sense of smell or taste, and trouble breathing are more likely to be COVID-19.
If you don’t know if you have had contact with someone who has COVID-19, and have new or worsening symptoms, you need to be tested.
If you have 1 or more of these key symptoms, seek testing as soon as possible:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Loss of sense of smell or taste
- Difficulty breathing
If you have 2 or more of the symptoms below for more than 24 hours, seek testing.
These symptoms are:
- Sore throat
- Loss of appetite
- Extreme fatigue or tiredness
- Headache
- Body aches
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
A COVID-19 test is also recommended if you are a contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and you have even one of the following COVID-19 symptoms:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Loss of sense of smell or taste
- Difficulty breathing
- Sore throat
- Loss of appetite
- Extreme fatigue or tiredness
- Headache
- Body aches
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
*A person with mild symptom(s) may elect to seek COVID-19 testing, even when it is not required.
**Children have similar symptoms to adults, but the symptoms are much milder. If you are unsure, please call 811 or keep children home until all symptoms clear.
***However, they do not recommend you test asymptomatically as you may receive a false negative. Siblings may stay home for a few days if they are concerned prior to testing.
This week, Pre-school and Kindergarten classes were asked to isolate and will be on-line until March. Grade 7 had an exposure letter, dated February 16, 2021, and no other grade to date has been advised to monitor for symptoms. Please continue to follow all Public Health Guidelines. Wash Hands, stay distant, and wear masks whenever you are outside your family bubble. Please avoid congregating with family and friends, especially playdates, birthdays or mixing families or community gatherings. COVID-19 variants maybe becoming more contagious, and the more safeguards we follow, the better to stop pre-symptomatic spread. We always recommend staying home if there are any signs of illness or concern to your personal safety.
Again, we have been dealing with these exposure events as quickly as notified, and we are informing you parents so you can also make the best decisions for the safety of your own families. We continue to follow the direction of VCH and will notify you immediately upon any more information from our School contact tracing team. Please feel free to email the school or your classroom teacher if you have any other questions.
Let us pray these exposure events end quickly, and safely, and that all our families will stay healthy until we finish the year. Please visit www.olos.ca for the daily prayer or masses.
And May God Bless us all and keep us safe!
Sincerely,
Pasquale Balletta
Principal