At least 167 schools in B.C.'s Lower Mainland have had recent COVID-19 exposures
More than 160 schools in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley have been added to health authority COVID-19 exposure lists in the two weeks since B.C. resumed publishing such exposures.
Fraser Health listed 162 schools with recent exposures as of Friday, while neighbouring Vancouver Coastal Health listed just five.
The gulf between the two Lower Mainland health authorities has grown since last week, when Fraser Health had 92 schools on its list and Vancouver Coastal Health had just two.
Asked about the dramatic difference in the number of reported COVID-19 exposures the two health authorities reported in schools last week, Vancouver Coastal Health emphasized that exposures are posted publicly when there is an increased risk of transmission.
"If the person who tested positive for COVID-19 attended school while infectious, public health coordinates with the school to notify contacts and to offer guidance on next steps," the health authority said in a statement to CTV News Vancouver last Friday, Oct. 1.
"If there is an increased risk of ongoing transmission of COVID-19 to other individuals in the school environment associated with a case, a school exposure notice is publicly posted."
Notably, the crowdsourced BC School COVID Tracker lists five schools in the Vancouver Coastal Health region that have notified parents of coronavirus exposures but are not included on the public list on the health authority's website.
Fraser Health's exposures website does not include the same language that Vancouver Coastal's does around risk of ongoing transmission. The Fraser Health website also indicates that schools are removed from the list two weeks after the last exposure date, while Vancouver Coastal says schools are removed from its list after four weeks.
CTV News has reached out to Fraser Health for more information about the criteria used for issuing an exposure notification. This story will be updated if and when a response is received.
The risk of COVID-19 transmission in B.C. schools has been the subject of much debate in recent months, as cases among school-aged children in the province have spiked.
B.C. began the current school year without a system for publishing notifications of COVID-19 exposures in schools. Public health officials still conducted contact tracing for every case involving a member of a school community, instructing close contacts to isolate when necessary, but the public warnings - which provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said were "anxiety-provoking" during the previous school year - were not being issued.
After an outcry from parents and teachers, Henry reversed course, saying it was clear that parents needed an "authoritative source" for information on COVID-19 transmission in schools.
Henry also recently expanded the school mask mandate to include students in kindergarten through Grade 3, following decisions by several school boards to do so on their own.
This week, the debate around COVID-19 in schools has shifted to the question of mandatory vaccination for teachers, with Premier John Horgan insisting that the matter is up to individual school boards to decide.
The BC Teachers' Federation has criticized this position, arguing that a vaccine mandate for school staff should be implemented province-wide, so that all employees are treated equally, regardless of where in the province they live.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police investigating sudden death of 2-year-old boy in Cambridge, Ont.
Police responded to the area of Beverly Street and Dundas Street North around 6 a.m. Monday for a report of a missing two-year-old boy.
A rare polar bear showed up on the shores of Iceland. Police shot it
A rare polar bear that was spotted outside a cottage in a remote village in Iceland was shot by police after being considered a threat, authorities said Friday.
Erik Menendez says Ryan Murphy's 'Monsters' is full of 'blatant lies'
Erik Menendez is slamming the 'dishonest portrayal' of his life in Netflix's 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erick Menendez Story.'
Here's one thing you can do to feel happier and more motivated at work, according to a new study
One simple action involving your smartphone could help improve your mental health at work, according to a new study.
Lebanon sees deadliest day of conflict since 2006 as Israeli strikes kill more than 270
Israeli strikes on Monday killed more than 270 Lebanese in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war as the Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate their homes ahead of a widening air campaign against Hezbollah.
'No restrictions' for English patients in Quebec health institutions
There are 'no restrictions' on the right to receive health services in Quebec for English speakers, according to a new clarification document issued by the Quebec Health Ministry on Monday.
Missing six-year-old boy in Manitoba found dead: RCMP
A six-year-old boy from northeastern Manitoba who had been missing since last Wednesday has been found dead.
OceanGate co-founder says Titan built from scratch because no one else could meet needs
The co-founder of the company that owned the experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic said Monday the company zeroed in on the use of carbon fibre for the doomed vessel because the company wanted a lightweight, less costly submersible that did not need to be tethered to an expensive mother ship.
Man accused in apparent assassination left note indicating he intended to kill Trump
The man accused in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump at a golf course in Florida left behind a note saying that he intended to kill the former president and maintained in his car a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump was to appear, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.