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COVID-19 exposures mounting as New West schools head into winter break

The 2021/22 school year has seen significantly more exposures than 2020/21. What impact will vaccination and Omicron have in 2022?
Julie MacLellan
Julie MacLellan
New Westminster schools
Fraser River, Glenbrook, Lord Tweedsmuir, Lord Kelvin, Qayqayt and New Westminster Secondary schools are currently listed on Fraser Health's school exposures site for COVID cases in the past 14 days.Jennifer Gauthier

Is winter break coming just in time?

New Westminster students are heading into the holidays on the heels of multiple COVID-19 exposure dates at several schools in the past couple of weeks.

Fraser River Middle School and Glenbrook Middle School both saw exposures on Dec. 13, according to the latest Fraser Health school exposures update this morning. Both those exposures follow on the heels of previously listed dates. It's at least the fifth separate exposure in December for FRMS, which saw previous reported exposures on  Dec. 3, 6, 8, 9 and 10 (involving at least four separate self-monitor notification letters). Glenbrook was previously listed for an exposure or exposures on Dec. 6, 7 and 8.

COVID-19 exposures have been more prevalent in schools this year than in the 2020/21 school year. By winter break last year, the Record's database shows  that New West schools had seen 38 reported exposures involving 83 exposure dates. This year, those numbers were up significantly: 56 exposures involving 139 exposure dates.

Those numbers include both public and private schools.

It's not possible to say exactly how many cases those exposures involve, since public health releases only exposure dates and not case numbers. 

The New Westminster school district previously released Fraser Health data showing that, in the first eight weeks of the school year, the district saw 42 cases of COVID involving children, plus a few more ("fewer than five," though an exact number was not reported) involving adults.

Those numbers reflected the period up to Oct. 28. In the same time period, there had been 23 reported exposures – meaning that, on average, each "exposure" involved about two cases.

An "exposure" means someone who has since tested positive for COVID-19 was in the school during their potentially infectious period on the date or dates in question and other people may be at risk of having come in contact with the virus. Health officials do not publish the number of cases involved, so it's not known whether the dates involve one person or multiple cases.

Six New Westminster schools remain on the Fraser Health list heading into winter break: Lord Kelvin, Lord Tweedsmuir and Qayqayt elementary schools, Fraser River and Glenbrook middle schools, and New Westminster Secondary School. Listings remain active for 14 days following the exposure date.

Ten of School District 40's 12 schools have seen COVID-19 exposures so far this school year, as have two independent schools in New Westminster. So far, F.W. Howay Elementary School and Queensborough Middle School have had no reported exposures in this school year.

Today (Friday, Dec. 17) is the final day of classes before the two-week winter break. Health officials will continue to update the school exposures site during the holidays should any more school-involved cases be found after today.

How school exposures will look in 2022 remains in question given the uncertainty around two major variables.

On the positive side, there's vaccination: with five-to-11-year-olds now eligible for their Pfizer pediatric vaccine, more children will return to school in January having been vaccinated. (As of the most recent data, Dec. 14, 28% of New Westminster children in the 5-11 age group had received their first shot.)

On the negative side? Omicron, the highly transmissible variant that's already having a huge impact on case numbers globally.

At a press conference Friday (Dec. 17), B.C. announced a number of new restrictions on Friday designed to help curb the spread of the virus, including limits on social gatherings, capacity reductions for large events and the cancellation of sports tournaments.

Asked about preparing for a safe return to school in January, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the measures B.C. has put in place to protect schools "have been working."

She said the public health school team continues to work on the issue to ensure that everything is in place for a safe return to class in two weeks.

COVID EXPOSURES IN NEW WESTMINSTER SCHOOLS

Here’s what has transpired in the 2021/22 school year so far in New Westminster:

  • École Qayqayt Elementary: Sept. 8 (reported by B.C. School COVID Tracker; predated change to Fraser Health notifications)
  • École Qayqayt Elementary: Sept. 20, 21, 22 (reported by B.C. School COVID Tracker; predated change to Fraser Health notifications)
  • Urban Academy (independent): Sept. 22, 23, 24 (reported on Fraser Health site Sept. 29)
  • Herbert Spencer Elementary: Sept. 21 (reported on Fraser Health site Oct. 1)
  • Lord Kelvin Elementary: Sept. 24 (reported on Fraser Health site Sept. 29)
  • Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary: Sept. 21, 22, 23, 24 (reported on Fraser Health site Oct. 1; B.C. School COVID Tracker confirms this is at least three separate cases)
  • New Westminster Secondary: Sept. 22, 23, 24 (reported on Fraser Health site Oct. 3)
  • Lord Kelvin Elementary: Sept. 22, 23, 28 (dates added on Fraser Health site Oct. 3)
  • New Westminster Secondary: Sept. 28 (date added on Fraser Health site Oct. 4)
  • Urban Academy (independent): Sept. 27, 28 (dates added on Fraser Health site Oct. 1)
  • Glenbrook Middle School: Sept. 25, 26, 28, 29, Oct. 1 (listed on Fraser Health site Oct. 7)
  • École Qayqayt Elementary School: Sept. 27, 28, 29, Oct. 1 (dates added on Fraser Health site Oct. 7)
  • Skwo:wech Elementary School: Sept. 23, 24, 27, 28, 29 (listed on Fraser Health site Oct. 7)
  • École Qayqayt Elementary School: Oct. 4,5 (listed on Fraser Health site Oct. 9; B.C. School COVID Tracker confirms this is at least two separate exposures)
  • New Westminster Secondary: Oct. 4, 5, 6 (dates added on Fraser Health site Oct. 9)
  • École Qayqayt Elementary School: Oct. 5, 6, 7, 8 (B.C. School COVID Tracker confirms at least two separate exposures involving this date range, with emails sent Oct. 11)
  • École Qayqayt Elementary School: Oct. 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 (separate case from above; one full class sent into isolation)
  • Fraser River Middle School: Oct. 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15 (reported on Fraser Health site Oct. 19)
  • Lord Kelvin Elementary School: Oct. 14, 15 (reported on Fraser Health site Oct. 20)
  • New Westminster Secondary School: Oct. 15, 18 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 22)
  • New Westminster Secondary School: Oct. 13, 19, 20 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 23)
  • Urban Academy (independent): Oct. 18, 19 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 24)
  • New Westminster Secondary School: Oct. 21 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 27)
  • Al-Hidayah (independent): Oct. 18, 20, 21, 22 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 27)
  • Al-Hidayah (independent): Oct. 25 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 31)
  • École Qayqayt Elementary School: Oct. 25, 26 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 2)
  • Lord Kelvin Elementary School: Nov. 1, 2, 3 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 8)
  • Queen Elizabeth Elementary School: Nov. 1, 2 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 8)
  • Skwo:wech Elementary School: Nov. 1, 2, 3, 4 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 9)
  • Connaught Heights Elementary School: Nov. 3, 4, 5 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 10)
  • Fraser River Middle School: Nov. 2 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 13)
  • Al-Hidayah School: Nov. 2, 3, 4 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 12)
  • Glenbrook Middle School: Nov. 15 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 21)
  • Herbert Spencer: Nov. 16, 17, 18 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 22)
  • Glenbrook Middle School: Nov. 17 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 24)
  • Fraser River Middle School: Nov. 19 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 25)
  • Urban Academy: Nov. 17, 18, 19 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 25)
  • Connaught Heights: Nov. 29 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 2)
  • École Qayqayt Elementary School: Nov. 26, 29, 30 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 3)
  • New Westminster Secondary School: Nov. 26, 30, Dec. 2 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 4)
  • Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School: Nov. 29, 30 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 4)
  • École Qayqayt Elementary School: Dec. 1, 3 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 6)
  • Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School: Dec. 1,2 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 7)
  • Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School: Dec. 3 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 7; appears to be separate exposure from Dec. 1/2 based on self-monitoring letter sent to families)
  • Fraser River Middle School: Nov. 29, 30 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 7)
  • Lord Kelvin Elementary School: Dec. 3 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 9)
  • Glenbrook Middle School: Dec. 6, 7, 8 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 11; appears to be two separate exposures based on self-monitoring letter sent to families regarding Dec. 7/8)
  • Lord Kelvin Elementary School: Dec. 1, 2 (added on Fraser Health site over weekend Dec. 11/12)
  • New Westminster Secondary School: Dec. 3 (letter to family Dec. 10; Fraser Health site over weekend Dec. 11/12)
  • Fraser River Middle School: Dec. 3, 6, 9, 10 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 14; appears to be at least three separate exposures based on self-monitoring letters sent to families,as posted in B.C. School COVID Tracker)
  • New Westminster Secondary School: Dec. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Fraser Health site Dec. 14)
  • Fraser River Middle School: Dec. 8 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 16)
  • Glenbrook Middle School: Dec. 13 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 17)
  • Fraser River Middle School: Dec. 13 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 17)

 

WHERE TO FIND OUT ABOUT NEW WESTMINSTER SCHOOL EXPOSURES

Fraser Health

New Westminster school exposures are listed at Fraser Health’s school exposures webpage.

 

B.C. School COVID Tracker

This parent-run database uses information provided directly by parents and verified by official health authority letters. There's a searchable database online.

 

Exposure Watch

This site, created by New Westminster parent Gabriel Bauman, provides a listing of COVID-19 "hotspots" in B.C. schools, as well as a search function to find out school-specific information. Parents can also sign up for exposure alerts and report exposures. (Note that the listings may include both confirmed and unconfirmed exposures; they are identified as such, with confirmed exposures including documentation.)

Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
Email Julie, [email protected].