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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.