Provincial health officials are ruling out school closures before the two-week March break but say it’s one “possibility” in the toolkit for slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Dr. Bonnie Henry told a press conference Monday that authorities have to consider what impact missed schooling would have on student education as well as issues that could arise if children congregate away from settings where hygiene controls are in place.
READ BELOW FOR SD43'S COVID-19 CLEANING PROTOCOL
While acknowledging that other countries are closing schools, B.C. schools are doing other things, such as enhanced hygiene and cleaning, she said.
“We will see where we are in the community cases that we have, and see where we are globally with the outbreak as this evolves,” Henry said.
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Here in the Tri-Cities, School District 43 is taking its orders from Fraser Health and, so far, there are no school closure plans nor any confirmed cases, contacts of concern or quarantine requirements for specific individuals.
If there were, letters would go home to parents, student and staff, SD43 spokesperson Ken Hoff said in an email.
“There have been many rumours and there is a lot of incorrect information circulating, so it is important to keep up to date on the information provided by health authorities,” Hoff told The Tri-City News.
The concern comes as Surrey school district suspended a community rental program and disinfected two buildings after potential contacts with the noel coronavirus. Dr. Henry said letters were sent to pareents even though there was no risk.
“It’s about reassuring that the school has taken all the measures,” she said at the press conference.
INFORMATION ON SPRING BREAK CAMPS BELOW
As for the health of students during the coronavirus outbreak, Henry said children have been “relatively spared” and “that’s a positive thing,” although the role they play in transmitting the infection to others is not entirely known.
Still, the two-week March break comes as a relief for authorities and Henry said as much during the press conference, noting that parents are planning for their children.
Upon return from spring break, however, students should be kept home if they are sick.
In the Tri-Cities, city-operated camps in Port Moody, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam are running as usual, with enhanced cleaning and hand-washing protocols.
But parents and staff who are travelling overseas during spring break are asked to consider quarantining themselves upon their return to Canada.
Hoff said discussions around student and staff safety in light of the COVID-19 outbreak are ongoing and the situation is being closely monitored.
“The district is committed to sharing the most recent updates from health authorities and keeping families informed as the COVID-19 novel coronavirus situation continue.”
SCHOOL CLEANING PROTOCOL
In response to concerns from local parents, The Tri-City News asked SD43 what is being done to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This is their response:
• Daily cleaning of all floor surfaces, and disinfecting of washrooms, water fountains, classroom desktops and sinks and dispenser units as well as spot washing walls. Soap dispenser units are monitored daily and refilled as needed.
• All touch points such as doorknobs, push bars and light switches are cleaned daily as required. This can be traded off with high dusting and be done daily if required. All other touch points are done daily; i.e. desktops, sink taps toilet handles etc.
• SD43 has purchased special equipment that can be used in very serious cases. The equipment disinfects large areas in a much shorter amount of time.
• Cleaning solutions are on the approved Ministry of Education list of chemical cleaners for schools.
• All schools have been provided “ample” supplies of cleaning products, according to SD43, as well as soap for dispensers in washrooms. It is possible a particular dispenser could run out of soap in the course of a day but reporting the matter to staff would be enough to have the supply replenished. Otherwise, it would be replenished as part of the routine custodial operations.
• Proper hand-washing is still the recommended response but hand sanitizer has been made available as well when possible, according to SD43.
• If the situation in the Lower Mainland changes, the custodial department will adjust procedures, as needed.
B.C. STILL CONSIDERED "LOW RISK"
With 39 cases as of Tuesday, B.C. is considered low risk for contracting coronavirus. Several of the 39 reported cases of COVID-19 in the province have fully recovered. However, one person at a North Vancouver care home who tested positive for the respiratory illness has died.
Handwashing, coughing into a sleeve, not touching one's face, staying home if sick are still considered the best ways to stop the spread of coronavirus.
