Photo courtesy the Canadian Press

By Troy Gillard

FIRST IN ALBERTA

COVID-19 case ‘likely transmitted’ within Edmonton school: Hinshaw

Sep 19, 2020 | 11:13 AM

Alberta has recorded its first case of COVID-19 believed to have been transmitted within a school.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, announced Friday afternoon that the case happened at Waverley School in Edmonton.

“To date, AHS has identified two cases that were infectious while in the school, one of whom seems to have been the source for the other,” she explained.

Hinshaw said there is no evidence showing that any changes to a different learning model are needed at this time, or that staff or students at the school are at risk.

Even with increased measures in place Hinshaw said a case of this type was not unexpected and is not cause for alarm.

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“This is another reminder that COVID-19 is part of our new normal. As I’ve previously mentioned, the more cases we see in a community, the more likely we are to see COVID-19 in schools.”

She added that the school did nothing wrong in this situation.

Across Alberta, there have now been 78 cases of COVID-19 involving staff or students being at school while infectious at 57 different schools (out of 2,415).

Two of those cases have been in Red Deer at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School and Escuela Vista Grande.

The province will be updating the total number of COVID-19 cases in Alberta this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Dr. Hinshaw will give her next in-person update on Monday.