COVID-19 outbreak declared at Saskatoon's Holy Cross High School

An outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at Holy Cross High School in Saskatoon, but classes at the school will continue next week as normal.

Families were notified about the outbreak on Friday evening after the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) confirmed it is investigating four unlinked cases at the school in the past 28 days.

"The declaration of an outbreak does not automatically result in school closure," said the notice to parents from principal Thomas Hickey. 

"Like outbreaks in acute care, long-term care, or business settings, an outbreak declaration may be triggered by a low number of cases but is used by public health to mobilize and coordinate a response to the infection."

The school first reported a case of COVID-19 in mid-September.

The outbreak at Holy Cross High School is the first one at a school in the city to be declared and the second in the province. On Sept. 27, the Health Authority declared an outbreak at the Yorkton Regional High School.

"The risk of the general population in the school becoming infected because of these cases is low," said Dr. Simon Kapaj, Saskatoon's medical health officer and the SHA's medical director of environmental public health in a separate notice.

"If staff or students are identified as a contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case, Public Health will contact them directly for follow-up."

In 2018, there were more than 1,200 students registered at the Greater Saskatoon Catholic high school.