118 schools on Lower Mainland COVID-19 exposure lists this week
There were 118 schools on COVID-19 exposure lists in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities on Friday, a slight increase from the previous week, but well below the average for the school year so far.
All but nine of the schools with recent exposures were in the Fraser Health region.
CTV News Vancouver's weekly tracking of school exposure notifications posted on the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authority lists.
Schools are added to the lists when a student or staff member tests positive and officials believe there is a risk of ongoing transmission to other members of the school community.
Fraser Health removes schools from its list two weeks after the last exposure date, while Vancouver Coastal Health removes schools four weeks after the last exposure date.
Exposure notifications are not posted for every case of COVID-19 associated with a school community, and schools are not added to the health authority lists until after close contacts have been notified directly by public health officials.
COVID-19 vaccination for children ages five to 11 began this week in B.C. As of Monday afternoon, more than 108,000 of the roughly 350,000 children in that age group had been registered to receive a first dose.
The vaccination effort comes as the province and the world brace for the potential impact of the concerning Omicron variant, which has a high number of mutations, though experts remain uncertain how those mutations affect transmissibility, severity of illness and possible vaccine resistance. https://bc.ctvnews.ca/b-c-confirms-1st-case-of-omicron-covid-19-variant-1.5687128
B.C. confirmed its first case of Omicron earlier this week.
The Delta variant remains the dominant strain of the coronavirus in B.C., and provincial health officials have blamed it for increasing the median number of infections seen in school clusters this school year.
As of an update provided by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry last month, approximately 12 per cent of schools in the province had seen a cluster of COVID-19 cases with evidence in-school transmission.
Children under age 12 account for approximately 20 per cent of B.C.'s COVID-19 cases, despite representing just 10 per cent of the province's population, though Henry says studies by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control have found that most cases among children in that age group are acquired in the community or at home, rather than in the classroom.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion, 1 person seriously injured: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
How to overcome 'savings guilt' when you're living paycheque to paycheque
As the higher cost of living continues to squeeze household budgets, many Canadians find they have even less left over at the end of every month to squirrel away for the future.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.