Five cases of COVID-19 have been found at Flin Flon-area schools since this school year began.
As of Sept. 22, one case each had been found at both Ecole McIsaac School and Ruth Betts Community School. As of Sept. 22, three other cases of COVID-19 at Many Faces Education Centre have been reported on provincial COVID-19 dashboards between Sept. 8-20.
"[Three] COVID-19 case(s) were associated with Many Faces Education Centre in the two weeks prior to September 20," reads the provincial school-aged cass and school staff cases dashboard.
"A case in a school does not mean that COVID-19 was acquired or transmitted at school. Not all cases associated with schools require a notification letter."
At Ruth Betts, at least one case was reported on the first day of school - Sept. 8 - in the school’s Eagle cohort at a period when the person who tested positive may have been infectious. The school and Flin Flon School Division (FFSD) announced the case Sept. 15. The Eagle cohort covers the school’s Grades 7-8 classes. Whether the case was reported in a member of the staff, a student or anyone else in the cohort is unknown.
The case found at McIsaac was in the school’s purple cohort, covering Grades 7-8 classes, Sept. 16-17 during a possibly infectious period. Once again, it is unknown if the case was reported in a student or a member of staff, with information over whether or not multiple people tested positive not available as of press time.
“The school is working closely with public health officials and is following their recommendations. Close contacts have been identified and are advised to self-isolate along with their household members,” reads a pair of form letters from the provincial health ministry regarding the cases.
“If you have not been contacted by the school stating your child is a potential close contact and a public health official has not contacted you, your child has not been identified as being exposed to COVID-19 from this/these case(s).”
When reached for comment, officials within the FFSD shared that the cases have been considered "low risk" by public health and no known spread has been found within the schools.
As of Sept. 22, a total of 56 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Manitoba schools since the start of the school year, with 38 schools reporting at least one case. Forty-seven of those positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in students, while nine staff members at Manitoba schools have also tested positive. No schools have yet gone into remote learning. No other northern schools have reported COVID-19 cases so far this school year.
