Another school in Mission had a COVID-19 exposure in late November.
Parents of Edwin S. Richards Elementary received a letter on Dec. 3, advising them of a series of exposures on on Nov. 17, 18, 19, 20 and 23.
This is the sixth school exposure in the school district, and the fourth school to have one. There were three exposures in a row at Hatzic Middle School starting in October, followed two exposures in mid November at Mission Central Elementary and Christine Morrison Elementary.
An “exposure event” is defined on the health authority’s website as “a single person with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection who attended school during their infectious period.”
“Exposure events” are the most contained of such classifications, followed by “cluster events” (two or more individuals are infected), and “outbreak events” (infection and transmission are widespread).
A notification does not mean that other children at the school have been exposed to COVID-19.
If parents do not receive a phone call or letter from Public Health, their child should continue to attend school.
The COVID-19 school notification process consists of the following protocols:
• Contact tracing is initiated to determine how the individual was infected and who they were in close contact with.
• Close contacts who may be at an increased risk are identified and notified, and they are advised to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days.
• Public Health determines who is a close contact. Learning groups, friends or other connections may be determined to not be a close contact.
• Public Health staff works closely with the school and school district throughout the case and contact management process to maintain close communication with the school community.