March 09, 2020 - 8:56 AM
SURREY, B.C. - A school district in Metro Vancouver has suspended a community rental program and disinfected two buildings after potential contacts with the novel coronavirus.
In a letter to Serpentine Heights Elementary parents in Surrey, B.C., the school district says its "deep clean protocol" was implemented after health officials confirmed a person who used the gym through the rental program tested positive for the respiratory illness.
Parents at Sullivan Heights Secondary in the same district have also been informed that a member of that school's community has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The letter does not say if the person is a student or staff member but it says the patient had no symptoms while at Sullivan Heights, so the risk of transmission is considered low for students and staff.
Classes at both schools are going ahead but the school district says its rental program for classrooms and gyms at Serpentine Heights has been postponed until further notice, affecting community groups such as sports teams or scouts and guides.
University Canada West, a private post-secondary institution in Vancouver says classes are going ahead today after the campus was closed last week following word that a person with a presumptive case of COVID-19 had visited the university.
Health officials have since determined there is no risk to faculty or students.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2020
News from © The Canadian Press, 2020