Letters have gone home to families at seven schools in School District 43 about COVID-19 exposures among elementary and high school students in the Tri-Cities.
Two Coquitlam secondary schools and one elementary are on Fraser Health’s school exposure list as of today (Sept. 29).
Four other elementary schools — two in Coquitlam and two in Port Coquitlam — with reported exposures are posted to the parent-run BC Covid Tracker.
The schools are:
COQUITLAM
- CABE (Sept. 17)
- Hampton Park Elementary (Sept. 16)
- Suw’alkh (Sept. 20)
- Ranch Park Elementary (letter from family, no date provided to BC Covid Tracker)
- Lord Baden-Powell Elementary (Sept. 15, 16 and 17)
PORT COQUITLAM
- Coquitlam River Elementary (Sept. 13, 14 and 15)
- James Park Elementary (letter to family, no date provided to BC Covid Tracker)
The information comes a day after B.C.'s provincial health officer promised school exposure information would be posted by regional health authorities.
Dr. Bonnie Henry made the announced Tuesday as she noted a “concerning” upward trend of COVID-19 cases in children under 11 years old.
At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Henry said the last week has seen a spike in coronavirus cases among three young cohorts: those aged 0–4, 5–11 and 12–17.
Between Sept. 17 and 23, the BC Centre for Disease Control recorded 1,086 new cases in people 17 and under with more than half in children between 5–11.
“The rates that we’re seeing right now of COVID-19 per 100,000 population is going up quite dramatically, particularly in those younger school-age children who are not yet eligible for vaccination," she said.
Four people under 17 were hospitalized last week. Two of those were four years old or younger, and one remained in critical care.
Spikes in COVID-19 cases among children have shot up the most in regions of the province with the lowest vaccination rates, including in the Interior, the north and a region of Fraser Health that covers the communities of Mission, Abbotsford and Chilliwack. In those regions, the rise in cases preceded the school year, said Henry.
She said the rates detected in school-aged children is a reflection of community vaccination rates.
“Immunization protects those that are not able to be vaccinated,” Henry said.
Also this week, a Coquitlam parent and the Coquitlam Teachers Association called for masks for students in kindergarten to grade three.
However, Henry did not expand the mask mandate but she did approve a number of new orders for east Fraser Valley, where there is a school outbreak, and numerous cases.
The restrictions include the communities of Hope, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Agassiz-Harrison and Mission, as well as the surrounding area.
Private indoor gatherings will be limited to five additional people or one additional household. Outdoors, 10 people may gather, unless everyone is vaccinated.
Henry said the restrictions were announced as hospitals face rising pressure to deal with COVID-19 patients. That has cascaded into surgeries where wait times are growing.
- with files from Stefan Labbé, Glacier Media
