VANCOUVER -- After recording more COVID-19 exposures than any other school district in B.C., local officials are introducing special safety measures in Surrey classrooms.
In a news release Friday, the Surrey School District announced it's introducing targeted health-and-safety protocols before the end of the month.
"Our schools have had a number of exposures that are community acquired, and that have not resulted in school-based transmission," said Laurie Larsen, chair of the Surrey Board of Education, in the release.
"This is a testament to the fact that our staff and students are protecting each other and following protocols consistent with public health guidelines and recommendations.
"But our board also recognizes that our community is dealing with a high burden of COVID-19 cases, and so we feel it's prudent to introduce new targeted health and safety measures to further protect our staff and students."
The school board says all the measures, which come into effect on March 29, were developed in partnership with Fraser Health.
The new measures include having three early-dismissal days to allow health and safety committees to review site plans and adjust school-specific protocols as needed.
Teams will also consider adjusting elementary school times to give a "common preparation time" for teachers, which would eliminate cross-cohort instruction. As well, individuals who team-teach specialized subjects in older elementary classes will instead focus on teaching their own classes.
Students will also be discouraged from playing outside with people who aren't in their cohort and administrators will ensure students and parents leave school grounds immediately at the end of the day.
In addition, StrongStart programs may move online.
Masks will continue to be required in secondary schools unless students are at their workstation, separated by a barrier or actively eating.
"The safety and well-being of our students, families and staff remains our district’s highest priority," said Supt. Jordan Tinney in the release.
"We recognize the importance of face-to-face learning and are committed to ensuring our students can continue to learn as safely as possible by following all appropriate measures to limit the spread of illness."
More than 20 schools in the Fraser Health region have recently had exposures to faster-spreading COVID-19 variants of concern.
Late last month, president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation told CTV News trustees should step up and implement stricter rules if the province won't.
Teri Mooring explained at the time that schools can't overstep guidelines put in place by the provincial health officer.
"Schools aren't able to exceed the health and safety guidelines," she said. "We certainly think that school trustees could take a stand here and make the decision to increase the health and safety measures at the school level."
Tinney said district officials will continue to work with Fraser Health, the BC Centre for Disease Control and the province to further refine Surrey's plans for schools as needed.
