Testing underway after student at French school in Rollo Bay tests positive for COVID-19

École La-Belle-Cloche in Rollo Bay was closed Friday for cleaning and so students and staff could undergo testing, after a student between age 10-19 tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday.  (Brian Higgins/CBC - image credit)
École La-Belle-Cloche in Rollo Bay was closed Friday for cleaning and so students and staff could undergo testing, after a student between age 10-19 tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday. (Brian Higgins/CBC - image credit)

The French-language school in the eastern P.E.I. community of Rollo Bay was closed Friday for contact tracing and cleaning, after a student tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday.

The one case at École La-Belle-Cloche is believed to be related to an outbreak at West Royalty Elementary School in Charlottetown. Ten new cases were announced Thursday on P.E.I., nine of which are related to that outbreak.

"It's concerning for the area, sure. But we all know that COVID is here. It's been on the Island. It's expected at some point that it would come our way," said Jo-Anne Dunphy, mayor of the nearby town of Souris.

La-Belle-Cloche has more than 100 students in kindergarten through Grade 12.

Dunphy said Souris council has spent a lot of time discussing COVID-19 and its potential impact on this community.

Souris is a shopping and service hub and a port of entry to P.E.I., with ferry traffic to and from the Magdalen Islands.

"We've done our part and the whole Island has been doing well through all of this, and certainly compared to other spots in Canada," Dunphy said. "If everybody does what they're supposed to, we'll get through it all.

"Hopefully there'll be no more cases."