RED DEER -- A Sylvan Lake high school is taking a two-day pause from in-school classes due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.

The first couple of COVID-19 cases at École H.J. Cody High School were identified on Friday, and, over the weekend, administration was notified there were additional cases.

As of Monday morning, École H.J. Cody High School had a total of seven positive cases of COVID-19.

“Because the cases were coming in a rather unusually quick fashion, we felt it was important to just slow everything down,” said Kurt Sacher, superintendent of Chinook’s Edge School Division.

“The likelihood that there are more cases was real, and we thought to just err on the side of safety.”

On top of the concern for the safety of students and staff, the school was facing significant operational challenges. Due to the seven confirmed cases, more than 300 students and more than half of the teaching staff have had to self-isolate.

“From an operational point of view, today would not have been sensible in our minds,” said Sacher Monday.

He also called employing substitute teachers unfeasible as it would have depleted major resources.

Sacher said there is no evidence that the individuals who tested positive contracted the virus at school.

“We believe they were contracted at multiple social gatherings in the community, and so, because of that, we felt there was too much risk that there would be more cases.”

The school will be taking a two-day pause from in-school classes on Nov. 23 and 24.

Sacher did not deny the pause could be extended past two days.

“Because we knew that there would be test results coming in Monday morning and Tuesday morning, we felt let’s just take two days to get a really good grasp on what we’re dealing with,” said Sacher.

“It’s possible there will be an additional pause for some grade levels or all grade levels. We just need to get accurate information before we proceed.”

The school plans to update students, staff and parents Tuesday afternoon.