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French school board blames health authority for slow Covid outbreak reaction in Hay River

The French school board that oversees Ecole Boreale is blaming the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority for delays in responding to a recent Covid-19 outbreak.
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Letters sent to parents of Ecole Boreale students from territorial health authority officials on Feb. 1 state that a Covid-19 exposure took place on Jan. 23 and 24. The Commission scolaire francophone des Territoires du Nord-Ouest says it took the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority four days to give the school board instructions on how to manage this outbreak. Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo

The French school board that oversees Ecole Boreale is blaming the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority for delays in responding to a recent Covid-19 outbreak.

In a letter that went out to the Hay River schoolSA国际影视传媒檚 parents late Feb. 1, acting Commission scolaire francophone Territoires du Nord-Ouest (CSFTNO) superintendent Mathieu Gagnon said that an outbreak affecting some students, staff and parents the previous week had been mishandled by the territorial government.

As a result, the school board was four days delayed to respond to the issue.

SA国际影视传媒淟ike you, we noted that a considerable period of time had elapsed between the moment the cases were declared and the moment you received clear directives as to the management of this outbreak,SA国际影视传媒 Gagnon wrote.

He insists that the school followed all proper protocols, including reporting the cases, as required by the GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO)and the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority (HRHSSA).

SA国际影视传媒淲e informed ECE of the situation at Ecole Boreale on the morning of Friday, Jan. 28 SA国际影视传媒 Gagnon stated in the letter. SA国际影视传媒淚n the afternoon of the same day, OCPHO informed ECE that the information had been passed on to the (Hay River health authority).SA国际影视传媒

The school administration was then to direct the school on how testing and isolation would take place among students and staff. But that never happened, Gagnon said.

SA国际影视传媒淯nfortunately, despite multiple follow-ups, by the school administration and CSFTNOSA国际影视传媒檚 superintendent, it took HRHSSA four days to give us specific instructions on how to manage this outbreak.SA国际影视传媒

Letters to parents

Separate letters were sent to parents on Tuesday night, depending on whether they or their children were exposed to the virus.

One of those letters obtained by the Hub shows that the incident took place on Jan. 24 and 25, the first two days of resumed in-person learning.

The letter is dated Jan. 26 while on the GNWT Covid dashboard, the date and time category is marked SA国际影视传媒渁s of Jan. 31.SA国际影视传媒

According to the letter, the exposure involved grades 3 to 6.

All people who were exposed but who are vaccinated do not have to isolate while the unvaccinated must isolate immediately, according to the letter.

Household members of exposed individuals also donSA国际影视传媒檛 have to isolate but should monitor for Covid-19 symptoms, the correspondence advises.

A request for comment was sent to the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority and the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority on Tuesday night.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

One parent that the Hub spoke with said itSA国际影视传媒檚 unacceptable for the French school board to blame the Hay River health authority in such an open manner, although the parent acknowledged that it appears that mistakes were made by at least one party.

SA国际影视传媒淭he blame game between government departments at this stage speaks to the completely dysfunctional nature of the GNWT,SA国际影视传媒 stated the parent. SA国际影视传媒淧ublicly blaming the health authority for the schoolSA国际影视传媒檚 failure to act? Ridiculously, infuriatingly incompetent.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd it takes them a week to tell us because the letter is dated Jan. 26. Someone dropped the ball.SA国际影视传媒


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