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
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.