Staff and students will be going back to class at Weledeh Catholic School on Tuesday. The same can't be said for those at St. Pat's High School.
Yellowknife Catholic Schools announced on Monday afternoon that regular operations will resume as enough bodies will be able to be in the school.
"We have been able to verify an adequate number of staff at Weledeh Catholic School have proof of the measles vaccination and will reopen tomorrow," reads a letter posted to social media late Monday afternoon.
A letter from administration at Weledeh advised parents that if their child hasn't had two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, they are to stay home and contact Yellowknife Public Health. The letter also stated that because of staffing levels, specialty classes such as phys. ed. and fine arts may be affected.
As for those at St. Pat's, the same letter indicated that information on who was properly vaccinated was still being collected as of Monday and because of that, the school will remain closed to students on Tuesday. An update on that situation is expected to come by 4 p.m. Tuesday, added the letter.
The announcements come on the heels of a further four locations in Yellowknife being identified by the Department of Health and Social Services as potential exposure sites to the measles virus. They include:
Breakaway Fitness - 5003 48 St.
SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½¢ April 27 between 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Monitor for symptoms until May 19)
Tim Hortons - 5014 49th St.
SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½¢ April 28 between 11:00 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. (Monitor for symptoms until May 20)
Range Lake North School - 170 Borden Dr. (gymnasium and atrium only)
SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½¢ April 28 between 4:00 p.m. to 6:20 p.m. (Monitor for symptoms until May 20)
Sir John Franklin High School - 4701 52 Ave.
SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½¢ May 2 between 2:00 p.m. SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ 4:05 p.m. (Monitor for symptoms until May 24)
The department added that venues for the recent Junior Super Soccer tournament were not being considered as exposure sites as of Monday afternoon.
But the Senior Super Soccer tournament, which was scheduled to begin on Thursday, has fallen victim to what's going on. A joint statement from Adam Murray, superintendent of YCS, and Shirley Zouboules, superintendent of Yk1, announced that the tournament has been postponed.
Andrew Gilmour, executive director of the NWT School Athletics Federation, which is responsible for the organization of Super Soccer, told SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½ on Monday evening that no new dates for the tournament have been set as of yet.
Symptoms of measles include:
SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½¢ Fever
SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½¢ Dry cough
SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½¢ Runny nose
SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½¢ Sore throat
SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½¢ Inflamed eyes (conjunctivitis)
SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½¢ A skin rash made up of large, flat red blotches, usually starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body and lasts between four to seven days
Measles is extremely transmissible and highly infectious which could affect as many as nine out of 10 people. It's spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes and others can become infected when they breathe in air or touch a surface contaminated with the virus.
What that means is if you have the virus, you could spread it without knowing you have it in the first place.
The measles virus can remain in the air for up to two hours once an infected person leaves the affected area and can be spread by a person four days before the rash until four days after the rash appears.
If you have symptoms of measles and don't need immediate attention, you're asked to call the Telehealth line at 811 and get more details. If you need medical attention, you're asked to call ahead to either the clinic or emergency room you plan on going to and let them know about your exposure. That way, they'll be able to make preparations before you arrive.
While there is no cure for measles, the department stated that most people within two to three weeks of having the virus, but there could be serious complications for pregnant women, infants or people who have a weakened immune system.
The department states that the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine is the best way to fight off the virus. All children 12 months of age and over should have been given two doses of the MMR vaccine at least four weeks apart as a part of standard vaccination procedures.
Your immunization record will tell whether you've had the MMR vaccine and you can e-mail Yellowknife Public Health at nthssa-yk_publichealthadmin@gov.nt.ca to confirm that. If you received the vaccine outside of Yellowknife, you should contact the health clinic where you received them to get confirmation. If you got the vaccinations in multiple communities, you'll probably have to contact each one to confirm.