Division says COVID case identified at Yorkton elementary school

COVID-19 continues to make its presence known in Yorkton.

According to the Christ the Teacher Roman Catholic Separate School Division, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) identified a positive case Wednesday at St. Alphonsus Elementary School in the city.

According to the school division, the news was shared with the individuals’s classroom/cohort and with the school community as a whole. The SHA has started contact tracing.

“To protect privacy, we are not able to share or discuss details,” the school division said in a media release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with this member of our school community, and we hope they are doing well.”

The division reminded students and families to take the necessary precautions to keep COVID-19 out of schools, including practising proper hand hygiene, maintaining physical distance, wearing a mask when appropriate and staying home if ill.

Meanwhile, the SHA issued a media release Thursday reiterating comments it made Monday about COVID-19 in Yorkton.

As the authority said then, visits to people at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre and the Yorkton and District Nursing Home have been limited to compassionate reasons only.

Those reasons include but aren’t limited to end-of-life care, major surgery, intensive care/critical care, maternal/pediatrics, long-term care residents whose quality of life or care needs aren’t met, and inpatients and outpatients with specific challenges.

“No other visitors are allowed into the specified facilities or homes at this time and these limitations will remain in place until it is safe to return to the previous level of family presence,” said the SHA, which said outdoor or virtual visits remain options.

Those who are allowed to visit have to undergo health screening before entering, including having their temperature checked and filling out a questionnaire. They’ll also have to wash/sanitize their hands and wear a medical-grade mask while inside the hospital or home.

The SHA added the emergency department at the health centre remains open.