Another elementary school has been added to the list of School District 43 COVID-19 exposures — this time at a school in Port Coquitlam.
Fraser Health is reporting an exposure at Blakeburn elementary (1040 Riverside Drive) on Oct. 21.
There are now 12 active COVID-19 exposure investigations in the district, five of which are taking place at elementary schools.
Blakeburn is the 22nd school in the district flagged with a COVID-19 exposure, two of which have been hit twice.
Fraser Health interim chief medical health officer Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin said Tuesday that contact tracers are under increasing pressure to keep up with the surge in cases across the health authority and urged residents to cancel all Halloween plans that introduce people from outside a household’s family unit.
According to the health authority, a school “exposure” indicates a single person with a lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection attended school during their infectious period.
A school “cluster,” on the other hand, indicates possible school-based transmission with two or more lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 attending school while infectious.
Finally, an “outbreak” at a school means “multiple individuals with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection” and that “transmission is likely widespread.”
Despite the closure of two schools across the province, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday that transmission events in schools remain relatively low and that health officials have largely succeeded in holding back the virus in school settings even as case numbers surge across B.C.
Fraser Health school exposures:
Map by Gary McKenna/Tri-City News
