Kelowna school at centre of COVID-19 outbreak may have to close due to staff shortage, says superintendent

The superintendent of the school district at the centre of B.C.'s first COVID-19 school outbreak says the school may have to close while many of its students and staff self-isolate.

About 160 students and staff are staying home after B.C. health officials declared an outbreak Wednesday at Kelowna's École de l'Anse-au-sable.

Five cases have been confirmed at the school as of Thursday. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said both students and staff have tested positive. 

Interior Health has shut down all classes between pre-kindergarten and Grade 3 at the school, and ordered students and some staff to self-isolate for 14 days. 

Michel St-Amant, the superintendent of School District 93, which oversees all of B.C.'s French-language schools, said the school had to quickly enlist extra staff the day after the outbreak was declared, and that decisions will be made day to day.

"I'm expecting that at one point we're going to have to make the choice to close the school just because we don't have enough staff," he said.

Investigation underway

Henry said health officials are containing the spread to the involved cohort. The timing of the first exposure isn't known, but the investigation started on Sunday, she said.

Health officials determined someone brought the virus in from outside, and it spread within the school.

Interior Health said students and staff were exposed Oct.13, 14 and 15.

"While it is obviously not what any of us want to see, it is not unexpected as we know COVID-19 is still circulating in our communities," Henry said. 

Public health teams are on site and piecing together how students and staff were infected, Henry said.

If their investigation finds other exposures, it may mean another cohort might isolate or the school will close, but Henry said those options are unlikely. 

She said the school is working with families to make sure they can continue with lessons. 

Interior Health's Dr. Kamran Golmohammadi, who is the lead on managing this particular outbreak, said it could still be a few days before all cases associated with the outbreak come to light.

This, he said, is because there are many people who may have been exposed currently self-isolating and it can take up to 14 days before symptoms appear.

'Best to stay positive'

Brigitte Diemand, who has two kids in grades 2 and 8 at the school, said some parents are surprised that not all students have been asked to stay home, given there are siblings in different grades. 

But she said she's happy overall with how the school responded.

"The school did everything it could to keep our kids safe," she said.

"And unfortunately, we just happened to get the first case in Kelowna at a school." 

Her son Joseph, a Grade 8 student, said he's still waiting on school work, and is filling his time with video games, books and board games. 

"There's really nothing else we can do, so it's best to stay positive about it," he said.

Speaking Friday on CBC's Daybreak South, Golmohammadi offered some words of encouragement.

"Less than one per cent of children tested who are tested so far in B.C. show they become ill with the virus," he said.