(Photo: The Canadian Press)

By Josh Hall

found out after isolation period already

Red Deer mom alarmed over 17-day delay in COVID contact notification

Jan 18, 2021 | 1:31 PM

With Alberta students having returned to in-person learning, a Red Deer family is concerned that it took 17 days to find out their child was a close contact of a COVID-19 case.

Abby, whose real name is being hidden to protect her childrens’ identities, tells rdnewsNOW that one of her kids was deemed a close contact at Normandeau School in late November, and was instructed to isolate through a letter sent Dec. 3.

On Dec. 18, she received a letter from Alberta Health Services (AHS) explaining one of her children had been deemed a close contact on Dec. 1.

It was confusing, she admits, because the letter did not specify which child, though it turned out to be the second.

However, it still raised an obvious question for Abby.

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“Why am I finding out about this after my child’s isolation period is already over?”

Abby clarifies that her family is fully on board with public health guidelines, but finds it extremely troubling that after being deemed a close contact, the child was allowed to return to school for another week.

In the end, both kids tested negative, but her second child being at school as a close contact and therefore a presumptive case until testing negative certainly raised the family’s eyebrows.

“There are no condolences anyone could give me if something worse had happened,” she says.

“When my daughter began online learning earlier this month, her teacher asked about her being a close contact and if she was feeling alright. I got confused and asked for more information. They said I would’ve got an email on December 18, and that’s when it clicked.”

rdnewsNOW asked Alberta Health Services (AHS) for an explanation regarding the error.

“Since the start of the pandemic, AHS has been conducting case investigation and contact tracing. This is an integral part of the pandemic response,” AHS responded in a statement. “The delay in notifications around the time of the family’s concerns is something our teams have worked exceptionally hard to avoid.”

Around the time Abby’s daughter was deemed a close contact, AHS says there was a “significant and sustained volume of new COVID-19 cases” causing school-related notifications to be delayed.

AHS doesn’t refer to it directly, but Normandeau School closed prior to the holiday break a week earlier than all others. The school was on watch status at the time with more than 10 active cases, and around half of its students and staff self-isolating.

A new case at Normandeau was reported Jan. 15.

“I was rather upset; not at the school, but I wanted clarification as to why in the world this happened,” says Abby, whose blended family includes members who are immuno-suppressed.

“We’re talking about four households with six children and six adults that could’ve all been exposed. In July, I had brain surgery, and I’m still recovering, but it is cancer.”

She says their family is lucky because everyone is amicable, but feels these circumstances may pose issues for other families with similar dynamics.

AHS tells rdnewsNOW it is now able to contact trace all COVID-19 cases involving school-aged children because they’ve hired and trained hundreds of additional tracers since November.

There are 1,250 in the province currently, AHS shares, with more than 1,000 formal offers already accepted, meaning more tracers are currently in training. There will be 1,600 trained contact tracers province-wide in the next few weeks, AHS says.

The process of contact tracing begins with identifying a positive case was at school while infectious, and then the superintendent and school admin are notified. This comes with a timeline of 1-2 days, ideally. AHS Public Health then works with the schools to determine which students and staff members are close contacts.

The process continues with school admin able to independently communicate to parents, while indicating that AHS will be in contact.

“Public Health then notifies all close contacts (or their parents/guardians if the contact is a minor) using a letter, sent via email if the school has provided email addresses to AHS. Where email addresses are not available, AHS instead calls all identified close contacts (students/parents/guardians). This notification is done as quickly as possible.”

AHS notes that letters to families aren’t individualized with a child’s name, but do indicate the school cohort a child is in using a letter or number.

Red Deer Public Schools says it relies on parents to advise them if their child has tested positive, and when that doesn’t occur, they rely on AHS, “which can sometimes be after the isolation period.”

“We believe we have a role as contact identifiers and work closely in partnership with Alberta Health Services. In all cases we review dates, test results, as well as attendance to determine those we need to contact and advise as necessary,” the division says in a statement. “As the health and safety of our students and staff are of the utmost importance, we are in a position to be nimble and quick to identify close contacts and to inform families.”

Abby says if this was lice or chicken pox, some delay – though not 17 days – would maybe be acceptable.

“This is a pandemic. This kind of lack of communication is completely unacceptable.”