Possible COVID-19 exposure suspends classes at Stephenville schools, town hall - CBC.ca

Stephenville Middle School and Stephenville Primary School were both closed on Friday, as the school district said there may be a possible COVID-19 exposure among students and staff. (CBC)

After a "small number" of people tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 in the Stephenville area, Friday's classes have been suspended at two of the western Newfoundland town's schools due to a possible exposure, with its town office following suit.

Public health officials declined to give an exact number of presumptive positives identified on Thursday afternoon, meaning they tested positive via a rapid COVID-19 test, with lab results pending to confirm the results.

"We're still early on in this investigation," Dr. Monika Dutt, the region's medical officer of health, said Friday morning. In an interview, she said "a small number" of people were presumptive, but refused to provide specific numbers, citing privacy reasons. 

Posts from the Stephenville Middlle School and Stephenville Primary School Facebook pages advised that because of a potential exposure, the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District was suspending classes at both schools for the day.

That decision was made because of potential staffing issues, a school district official said.

"We reached a point last night, I think it's fair to say, where there may have been a large number of staff that were asked to self-isolate until public health could get contact tracing, could get testing done, and then evaluate their readiness to return to work," said Dan O'Brien, an assistant director with the district.

O'Brien said the schools themselves were safe, and public health did not order them shut.

"There's actually no reason from a public health perspective at the moment that we couldn't be having classes," O'Brien told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning Friday.

Staff not told to self-isolate are to report to school, he said, to make plans in case some online learning is required for any self-isolating students, and arrange for substitutes if necessary.

"My hope is that we'll have school open as normal for Monday," he said.

Mayor of Stephenville Tom Rose says people in the town should stay vigilant and be concerned about the possible COVID-19 cases. (Colleen Connors/CBC)

Possible cases under investigation

The origin of the possible positive COVID-19 cases in Stephenville is not clear, and on Friday morning public health could not say whether they may be travel-related.

"That's something we're very much looking at right now," said Dutt, noting there may be more information by the time the daily afternoon provincial COVID-19 update is released.

The number of cases of a COVID-19 outbreak in central Newfoundland rose to 49 on Thursday, with that cluster driven by the contagious B1617 variant of the virus, first found in India. Some schools in that region closed for two days as a precaution, reopening Thursday, although the area remains under Alert Level 4.

As people in Stephenville await more information, its town management made the decision to close its town hall, a move backed by council, said Mayor Tom Rose.

"At this point in time, we're taking every precaution possible in the community," Rose said.

He urged people to follow public health guidelines and keep contacts low.

"They have to be very, very concerned," Rose said.

As of Thursday there were 89 active cases overall in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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2021-05-28 12:23:46Z
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