Two more Tri-City schools have been been identified with COVID-19 exposures, raising the number of schools under active investigation in School District 43 to nine.
Nestor elementary in Coquitlam has been flagged for the first time, with Fraser health contact tracers investigating exposures from Nov. 6, 9 and 10.
Coquitlam River elementary in Port Coquitlam, meanwhile, has not been listed on Fraser Health’s school exposure page, but the district has indicated the school has been subject to at least one COVID-19 exposure. More information will be provided here when it becomes available.
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.”
Fraser Health school exposures:
Map by Gary McKenna/Tri-City News
The latest exposures come a day after provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry escalated and extended sweeping COVID-19 restrictions across the province until Dec. 7 at midnight.
Among heightened restrictions, Henry has also created a team to manage school outbreaks in the Lower Mainland. When pressed on the possibility of mandating an early start to the school holiday break, Henry said her office is still considering the option.
