Parents at another Port Coquitlam elementary school have been notified of a COVID-19 exposure in their school, bringing the number of Port Coquitlam schools under active exposure investigations to four.
The Nov. 3 and 4 exposures at Central elementary school comes as some parents are raising concerns about the lack of information provided in exposure notices and the lag time between the exposure and the letter to parents.
EARLY WINTER BREAK?
There are no provincial plans yet to shut down schools early for winter break and B.C.’s provincial health officer says there has been very little transmission of the coronavirus in schools.
In an interview Monday, one Hazel Trembath parent told the Tri-City News he’s worried for his son and needs more details to decide whether he should keep him home from school after notices went home about exposures on Oct. 29 and later for more exposures at the school Nov. 3, 4 and 6.
The main concern seems to be lack of detail about where the exposure was and for how long, something the president of the District Parent Advisory Committee for School District 43 said would be helpful for parents.
“For instance, if an exposure five days in a row was based on a delivery person attending the school versus a school member, it will make a big difference as to how comfortable a parent will feel sending their child to school,” noted Marvin Klassen.
Klassen said parents have been raising concerns about school safety on social media but DPAC has yet to field concerns directly. Still, he encouraged parents to be vigilant.
“Thankfully, in-school transmissions have not yet become an issue in SD43, although we do not know what the future holds. As DPAC President, I encourage parents to continue carefully monitoring their children through the daily health checks and remain vigilant in adhering to the current restrictions set by the provincial health officer,” Klassen added.
PRECAUTIONS URGED
Provincial health officials have noted that exposures are occurring because COVID-19 is circulating in the community and the best way to reduce risk in schools is to stick to home bubbles, reduce travel and follow protocols and health measures, such as wearing masks indoors.
Still, some are wondering if the province will shut schools earlier or if other measures are being considered to reduce the chance of transmission in schools.
When pressed about the matter, Dr. Bonnie Henry said during a press conference Nov. 16 she’s looking at initiatives to ensure physical education and musical education can be done “in the best way to protect people,” but that closing schools might result in older students congregating unsafely while placing hardship on essential services workers and businesses.
“We’re all considering what’s makes sense, what’s the data we know,” Dr. Henry said, adding that among other measures, her office is weighing the benefits of an early start to the Christmas break.
Meanwhile, of the 1,959 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the province over the weekend 1,361 (69%) came from Fraser Health.
Tuesday, Nov. 17, the province reported another 484 cases for Fraser Health, which includes the Tri-Cities, in the last 24 hours, and a total of 717 for the province.
RISKY TO YOUTH
The numbers come 10 days into heightened restrictions across the Lower Mainland. UBC infectious disease modeller Dan Coombs told the Tri-City News he expects to see a signal indicating how well the restrictions have worked as early as the end of the week.
At the same time, school exposures continue to be listed on Fraser Health’s website, reminding parents that they need to take precautions as the virus has proved it can be deadly even among relatively young individuals.
According to Fraser Health, 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
