Second Victoria school issues alert after COVID-19 exposure

Another private school in Victoria has an ongoing COVID-19 exposure in place.

According to Island Health, school community members at The Victoria School For Ideal Education located at at 2820 Belmont Ave may have been exposed to the pandemic virus on November 16 and 17.

This is the second school in Victoria to have an exposure alert in place, after Island Health issued an alert for Lakeview Christian School. Students and staff at that school may also have been exposed to the virus on November 16.

There are now eight active exposure or cluster outbreaks in schools across Vancouver Island.

An ‘exposure’ is defined by Island Health as a single person with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection who attended school during their infectious period.

A ‘cluster’ means two or more individuals with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection attended school during their infectious period. These cases may be linked to school-based transmission.

Island Health says staff or students who see the exposure alert notice should not assume they have been exposed to the virus.

Close contacts of the person(s) who tested positive for COVID-19 will be identified and contacted by public health officials.

A full list of schools with exposure or cluster alerts in place can be found on the Island Health School Exposures website.