Outbreak at Kelowna French school declared over on Thursday

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UPDATED: 4:15 p.m.

Interior Health chief medical health officer Dr. Albert de Villiers is thanking École de L’Anse-au-sable school officials for their handling of the recent outbreak. 

He says it was the excellent co-operation between school officials and IH in the management of the outbreak which allowed it to be declared over after 14 days. 

"We know this is a challenging time for parents and children alike, and we remind everyone to carefully consider any plans, parties or sleepovers for children as these activities could lead to other school exposures.

"Our public health teams continue to urge everyone to keep their social contacts small. Help us keep schools open and COVID-19 cases down among youth so children can continue with in-class learning."

ORIGINAL: 3:20 p.m.

The COVID-19 outbreak at École de l’Anse-au-sable School in Kelowna has been declared over.

What was initially believed to be a single COVID-19 exposure in late October was soon redefined as an outbreak. 

It was the first declared outbreak at any school in the province since school restarted in early September.

In the days to follow, the outbreak grew to 16 cases, and more than 160 students and staff were asked to self-isolate.

As a result, the school announced it would shut down operations completely for 10 days, until Nov. 4.

During her briefing on Thursday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed the outbreak is now over. 

There are currently three Kelowna schools with COVID-19 exposure alerts, including Kelowna Secondary School, Okanagan Mission Secondary School and Springvalley Elementary School.