NEWS PHOTO JEREMY APPEL Trustees Kathy Glasgo and Peter Grad at Tuesday's Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education meeting.
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The Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education is taking some steps to mitigate the risk of coronavirus spreading, trustees heard at Tuesday’s board meeting.
Trustee Peter Grad said it was worth starting to have a discussion regarding “everything from school closures to whether or not trips can go” in the event the global pandemic worsens.
Superintendent Dwayne Zarichny said the board gets “regular updates from the chief medical officer that we share with the schools” about what to do within the schools to ensure the virus doesn’t spread.
“Right now the updates consisted primarily of ensuring we were recommending to students and staff that they wash their hands regularly, because that’s the best way to fight the transmission of the virus,” Zarichny said.
The board has also “implemented enhanced cleaning procedures in the schools,” ensuring custodians regularly change their cleaning cloths to ensure the disinfectant doesn’t wear off, he said.
MHCBE health and safety personnel are working on updating the board’s pandemic planning model, in addition to its business operations model as it pertains to a pandemic, Zarichny added.
“That work is being conducted as we speak,” he said.
Grad inquired about what the board would do if it found out a student tested positive for the virus.
“Do we close a school? Do we close (all) schools? Do we carry on as usual? Obviously, we’d be in contact with the health authorities regarding it, but it’s something that needs to be considered,” said Grad.
Zarichny said administration would defer to the recommendation of the chief medical officer in that case.
Grad emphasized he hopes it doesn’t come to that.
“Hopefully it won’t spread to our neighbourhood and we’ll still be the forgotten corner of the province that way too,” he said.
