At least 167 schools in B.C.'s Lower Mainland have had recent COVID-19 exposures
CTV
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.
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.
