Newfoundland and Labrador has its first case of COVID-19 in our K-12 school system.

A student at Elwood Elementary in Deer Lake has contracted the virus. The child is connected to an existing case. Classes are being suspended for the next couple of days to allow for contact tracing and testing according to Education Minister Tom Osborne.

The decision was made with “an abundance of caution” and to allow “effective contact tracing.” If a student or staff member is considered a close contact of a positive case they will be contacted by public health officials.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerals says contact tracing is underway and students who were in the same cohort are isolating.

She says the school has been following health guidelines in keeping class cohorts separate, a move which she says keeps the risk of spread down. She says having a case in one of our schools is not unexpected.