Loyalist College President and CEO Ann Marie Vaughan (top) and Office of Senior VP, Corporate Services and Chief Finacial Officer Mark Kirkpatrick (bottom) held a town hall meeting on Thursday to inform students about the five cases of COVID-19 on campus and the school’s new protocol for staff and students that live in the red/grey COVID-19 zones as dictated by the Ontario government. (Photo by James Tubb).
By James Tubb [1]
BELLEVILLE – Loyalist College [2] staff and students were told Thursday to refrain from traveling to campus if they live in or travel from a controlled and lockdown zone within the province.
Loyalist College President Ann Marie Vaughan, senior staff, and representatives from the health unit held two town hall meetings to inform students and staff about the new COVID-19 restrictions at the school and provide details regarding the school’s current cases of COVID-19.
Students and staff were originally notified of the travel restrictions in an email from the college on Tuesday. Vaughan emphasized the need to reduce the risk of transmission. She asked anyone from a grey lockdown zone (Toronto and Peel) or a red control zone (Durham, Hamilton, Halton, Waterloo and York) to stay home and avoid traveling to campus.
The college currently has five students with confirmed cases of the COVID-19. In the meeting with students, Vaughan said there was no transmission of the virus on campus and that those who have tested positive contracted it outside the college.
“Since day one of the pandemic, we have been doing everything from within our power to protect our college community and because of these rigorous safety measures, there have been no transmissions on campus to date,” Vaughan said.
In the meeting, Senior VP, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer Mark Kirkpatrick reiterated all of the measures that Loyalist College has put into place to ensure the safety of its staff and students and limit potential transmission of COVID-19.
“Although we do our best, we can not prevent COVID from coming onto campus … it is up to the processes and protocols we have put into place to minimize any risk of spread,” he said.
He said that the college has been audited and has proven that the school is following the rules in its COVID-19 response.
“We can not guarantee anything, but what we are doing is working and we will never stop working to improve what we have in place,” Kirkpatrick said.
Katrina Baxter, a public health nurse with Hastings Prince Edward Public health [3] spoke about the public health protocols and the steps and procedures when they receive a positive COVID-19 test.
The HPEPH unit will contact anyone who has tested positive to ensure they are isolating and collect information to help limit further spread of the virus.
Baxter says a person can have the virus for two weeks before they show symptoms and asks that anyone who is showing symptoms or has been tested for the virus isolate until they receive their results.
With every case, the college and health unit look at each cohort of students and access the risk of transmission within that group and the rest of the school.
“Factors that determine the decision (high or low risk of transmission) are whether masks were used and their quality, was physical distancing in effect and how much time did the individuals interact and what was the nature of their interaction,” she said.
She says, if a case is deemed low risk, they will be notified by either the college in a letter or by public health in a phone call. They are asked to self monitor for any symptoms for 14 days from the last exposure but can still go about their normal life.
High risk contacts would be contacted directly by public health over the phone within 24 hours of a positive test and are asked to isolate for 14 days from their last exposure. They are also advised to be tested for the virus five-to-seven days after exposure unless they are already showing symptoms. If they are already showing symptoms, they are to get tested immediately.
“During isolation, cases and contact of COVID-19 have a legal requirement to remain home and avoid contact with any household member or any others outside of the home,” Baxter said.
If they have to use a shared space, they are required to wear a mask and thoroughly clean the area for the entirety of their 14 day isolation.
Bill Sherlock, the clinical services manager for HPEPH commended the college for the job its done at limiting its cases.
“These measures have really helped to mitigate the risk. If these measures weren’t in place we would have seen more transmissions,” he said.
The college has yet to announce their plans for what will happen students who return home to red or grey zones for Christmas break and whether they will be allowed to return to in-person classes in January.