Less than 2 weeks from end of B.C. school year, 51 schools still on local COVID-19 exposure lists
The last day of school in British Columbia is less than two weeks away, and 51 schools in the Lower Mainland are still dealing with recent COVID-19 exposures.
As of Friday, there had been exposures at 10 different schools in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and 41 schools in the Fraser Health region over the last 14 days.
In a school context, an exposure is defined as one or more people who have tested positive for the coronavirus and were present at the school during their infectious period.
Schools are added to the regional health authority lists whenever an exposure takes place, and they remain there until 14 days after the last exposure date.
Fifty-one is the lowest total number of exposures CTV News Vancouver has recorded in the Lower Mainland since it began tracking school exposures every Friday in mid-May.
Archived versions of the Fraser Health school exposures web page on archive.org suggest that the number of exposures in the region has been at least that high since late January, though data is incomplete.
Data on COVID-19 infections in schools released by both Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health shows that in-school transmission of the coronavirus is rare. Health officials have repeatedly said that the number of school exposures generally reflects the level of transmission happening in the broader community, not in schools.
Still, B.C. teachers have continually pushed for greater protection from COVID-19 in the classroom, demanding mask mandates and improved ventilation, as well as online learning options in some circumstances.
Those efforts are set to continue as the province plans for a return to "near normal" when the next school year begins in September.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Gangs netting up to US$3 trillion a year as Southeast Asia human trafficking becomes a global crisis, Interpol says
Human trafficking-fuelled fraud is exploding in Southeast Asia with organized crime rings raking in close to US$3 trillion in illicit revenue annually, the head of Interpol has said in comments that reveal the huge profits being earned by cartels.
Robotic police dog shot multiple times, credited with avoiding potential bloodshed
A robotic dog named Roscoe is being thanked by state police in Massachusetts for helping avert a tragedy involving a person barricaded in a home.