2 N.S. universities each report a COVID-19 case

Two Nova Scotia universities are each reporting a case of COVID-19 on campus.

Dalhousie University confirmed a case of COVID-19 in its residence community. A memo posted to the school's website said the student sought testing at the onset of symptoms and is now in self-isolation.

"Public Health has informed Dalhousie that the potential exposure risk in this case is low," said the memo, which was from provost and vice-president academic (acting) Frank Harvey and Gitta Kulczycki, vice-president of finance and administration. 

"Any residence spaces accessed by this individual have undergone additional cleaning and sanitization, and Public Health has not identified any campus locations for an exposure notification at this time."

The memo also said the case is a reminder of the importance of following COVID-19 protocols.  

At St. FX, a letter to the university community said a student had arrived to campus on Jan. 3 and was self-isolating in residence. 

Supports in place, say school 

"During isolation, the student opted to go for testing which produced a positive result," said the letter from Andy Hakin, president and vice-chancellor. "The student continues to safely isolate on campus, with the appropriate academic and operational supports in place as per our pandemic plans."

Throughout COVID-19, St. FX had been holding most of its classes in-person.

Both schools thanked the students for adhering to the public health protocols. They also reminded their school communities that as of Jan. 4, all students entering the province from outside Atlantic Canada must self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival.

Post-secondary students should also get a COVID-19 test on the sixth, seventh or eighth day of their self-isolation, but they are required to finish their isolation period even with a negative result.

Public Health is doing contact tracing in both cases, the schools said. 

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