The Communication of COVID cases in schools and day cares in the province, was addressed by Premier Scott Moe Monday, after positive cases in both areas were announced.
Moe says the process and protocols are similar for schools and day cares as to what has happened in workplaces over the past months, but they can be changed for each individual situation. The Premier says when they went through the Re-Open Schools Plan, the province set forward four operating levels, then worked with the divisions on the operational plans for each division, and each school within that division. Moe says now what they are seeing is teachers taking that to the very granular level of their classroom, and individual cohorts.
Moe says the important steps are to first ensure the testing capacity is there to identify any positive cases and then secondly to ensure contact tracing is in place to identify those who have been in close contact, those people will be notified to go and get tested or self isolate. In cases where people are not overly close, Moe says it may be a requirement to work with parents to instruct kids on what it means to self monitor.
Large Social Gatherings
Premier Scott Moe says it’s important for residents to note that many of the large COVID-19 spread events, in the province, have been because of various social gatherings.
Speaking regarding a recent private social gathering in Saskatoon, that lead to a jump in COVID numbers, Moe says looking back to previous outbreaks such as curling bonspiels and snowmobile rallies, social gatherings need to be paid attention to. Moe suggests that when people are with friends or family at a social gathering we may become a little complacent, with people handshaking, hugging or even sharing food and drinks. Moe says these are exactly the incidents that have lead to larger outbreaks, he says we can’t let our guard down as we’re not finished yet.
Moe says while we can have gatherings of up to 30 people, but that’s only if physical distancing can be maintained.
On Sunday at least 6 of 14 cases were connected to a private gathering. Contact tracing and investigation is underway, which may result in more cases linked to this gathering.
