As the Lambton Kent District School Board manages its first few case of COVID-19 in schools, officials are calling for calm.
Director of Education John Howitt says with their first case at a Corunna public school, the process of contact tracing went according to plan.
“As part of our reopening plans, we have extensive logging of who is in contact with whom throughout the school day,” Howitt says. “Based on that information, a determination was made about who met the definition of a direct contact with the positive case.”
One lesson the board has learned, however, is the need to keep phone lines at the school, board offices, and public health unit clear.
“Public Health is extremely thorough in contacting those who need to know, if you have not been contacted, then you are not a direct case and you don’t need to alter your action,” Howitt says. “It really clogs up the resources of people calling to say I heard this and I heard that, and ‘Three weeks ago from last Tuesday we walked by each other on the sidewalk, do need to worry?’ I know I’m exaggerating a bit there, but I’m also not.”
One person at Colonel Cameron Public School in Corunna tested positive earlier this week, sending 45 students into quarantine.
Two classes at Bright’s Grove Public School have also been sent home after a positive case at the school.
There’s one confirmed case of COVID-19 at Northern Collegiate in Sarnia as well, but officials say in that case no classes have been affected.
