Outbreak Reporting in Schools
October 6, 2021 - Further to the Government of Alberta's announcement on changes to Managing COVID-19 in Schools, one of the more pertinent changes to point out is that the definition of a COVID-19 ‘outbreak’ is changing. A school outbreak will now be reported as 10 or more COVID-19 cases within a 14-day period that were infectious while at school. The previous use of a 10% absenteeism rate will no longer be used for COVID-19 cases but will remain in place for other respiratory or gastrointestinal illnesses.
Public reporting of COVID-19 cases in schools will resume on Wednesday October 6, with Alberta Health identifying online each school with at least 2 COVID-19 cases. To check if your PSD school is in alert or outbreak status, visit:
COVID-19 School Status
Public Reporting Categories
- Alert: 2 to 4 cases
- Alert: 5 to 9 cases
- Outbreak: 10+ cases
Alberta Health Services will take over the lead on contact notification in schools within the next several weeks. Once AHS-led contact notification is in place, parents will be able to check an online map to view alerts and outbreaks at schools. Please note that close contacts will only be notified that there is a positive COVID-19 case in their class and will not be legally required to self-isolate at home.
For further information on Managing COVID-19 in Schools, visit the Staying Safe and Healthy this School Year page on the Government of Alberta's website.