(Facebook/Vincent Massey School)

By Glenn Hicks

covid-19

P.A. school closed because ‘too many classrooms affected’ by COVID case

Dec 7, 2020 | 6:06 PM

The decision to have all students move to remote learning after a recent COVID-19 case at Prince Albert’s Vincent Massey Elementary School was taken because many classrooms have been impacted. Meanwhile, the school division says the situation does not imply other schools will be affected.

“Investigation by Health has shown that there are just too many classrooms affected,” Robert Bratvold, the director of education for the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division (SRPSD) told paNOW when asked why this positive COVID case had prompted Vincent Massey’s closure until after the Christmas break.

There have been many other instances in the division of some students, classes and/or cohorts having to go home temporarily because of a COVID case, but no schools have so far moved to Level 4, which is full remote learning.

Bratvold said the decision announced Sunday was taken as a preventative measure.

“This is not an operational thing; it’s not that we have so many staff testing positive that we can’t operate, that is not the situation,” Bratvold said. “It is a preventative one: that there are a number of students and staff who may have been exposed so the best course of action is to ensure they’re at home doing remote learning.”

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Public Health nor the school division discloses details about COVID cases because of privacy concerns.

Bratvold added just because Vincent Massey School had now moved to remote learning did not make any other school in the neighborhood, city or division more likely to also move to Level 4.

“There is no connection between the schools in that way,” Bratvold said, but he did warn of the potential likelihood of more positive tests in schools as positive tests across the community continued to grow.

He explained while teachers and staff across the division were well prepared for the possibility of having to send all students home for two weeks of self-isolation on short notice, this was not anticipated and there would be some details and uncertainties to work out in the coming days.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow