A member of the College of the Canyons community tested positive for COVID-19, the first confirmed case since a limited number of courses began meeting in-person at the college for the fall semester.

The affected individual was last on the Valencia campus Wednesday, October 7.

Consistent with its COVID-19 response protocols, the college undertook contact tracing and notified students and employees who were in the area or who may have interacted with the affected individual when the person was last on campus.

Because this was a confirmed diagnosis, those people have been asked to self-quarantine at home, and not return to campus for 14 days.

Since the fall semester began August 24, the college has held a limited number of lab sessions on campus for students enrolled in courses classified by the state as essential infrastructure disciplines. These include welding, emergency medical technician, nursing, culinary arts, construction technology, automotive technology, medical lab technician, and land surveying.

Before each lab of the sessions, every student and instructor undergo a health screening. They complete a health assessment and have their temperatures taken. In class, they must wear masks and maintain social distancing.

The physical areas of the campus through which the individual passed are part of the college’s regular cleaning regimen and have undergone additional disinfection treatments.

The college’s Valencia and Canyon Country campuses remain closed to the general public.

All COC classes and support services have been operating in remote formats since March 20.

Per established protocols, the college has notified all employees about this first confirmed case, and also reported it to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

COC will continue to follow the direction of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.