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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Miriam Webber

Number of COVID affected schools across Canberra grows to 17

Alfred Deakin High School has been reported as COVID-19 exposure location overnight, ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said on Thursday.

The school was exposed from Monday to Friday last week, as well as Monday and Tuesday this week.

Ms Stephen-Smith said there were 17 COVID-19 exposure locations across Canberra schools.

"As far as I'm aware, from yesterday's briefing ... we haven't seen any evidence of transmission at other schools, so at the moment, it's still only two as far as I'm aware," Ms Stephen-Smith told ABC.

A cluster of cases associated with the Wanniassa School junior campus had reached 50 on Tuesday, including secondary and tertiary infections, while there were less than five cases linked to Erindale College.

On Tuesday, chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said most cases linked to schools had been acquired in external gatherings.

The Canberra Times revealed on Thursday that a Halloween house party had become a superspreader event, generating clusters across a number of schools and colleges.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we did see some further incidences of transmission at some schools given the length of time of some of those potential exposures, and particularly ... in a primary school setting," the Health Minister said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Mawson Primary School was added as an exposure location, from Monday, November 1, to Thursday, November 4, but the school will remain open.

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith. Picture: Elesa Kurtz
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