Privacy will be the watchword if schools get hit with COVID-19 cases and it will be up to health officials to deal with the media or inform parents.
And that’s just fine for School District 43 trustees.
While provinces such as Alberta, Quebec and Ontario report publicly all cases of COVID-19 in schools the degree to which B.C. will report is less clear.
Tuesday, trustees put the question of public reporting directly to superintendent Patricia Gartland, who said that it would be up to Fraser Health to deal with COVID-19 cases and contact tracing, not the school district.
And similar to measles, it’s possible there won’t be public disclosure, if all the contacts can be traced, she said, as those who have been exposed will be asked to isolate for 14 days.
“They just deal with it, trace the contacts, just like they do with measles,” Gartland said, adding the reason for not publicizing school cases is protecting privacy.
While other provinces, such as Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, are publicly reporting school cases, the B.C. government has not stated whether school outbreaks will be reported, only that health authorities will be responsible for communication to families and dealing with questions from the media.
Still, while a single case of COVID-19 might not be enough for public disclosure, there may be times when a school outbreak would be made public by Fraser Health.
In that case, there would have to be multiple confirmed cases of COVID-19.
In a statement, the ministry of health confirmed that Fraser Health would be responsible for public notifications of declared outbreaks, where there are multiple confirmed cases among students or staff, even if there is no evidence of ongoing transmission.
Additional measures to prevent further transmission of COVID-19 would also be put in place and would consider the unique circumstances of the school and the outbreak, according to the statement.
Trustees meanwhile, are concerned about schools being identified in the case of an outbreak.
Port Coquitlam trustee Christine Pollock confirmed that Quebec has a policy to reveal school COVID-19 cases because her son is a vice-principal in that province and has to report each case or suspected case “on a daily basis.”
“It would be strange to have a province doing that,” said Coquitlam trustee Barb Hobson. “I’m glad ours isn’t.”
This week, a majority of School District 43’s 32,000 students are expected to head back to class, grouped in learning cohorts or with physical distancing when cohorts are blended, and masks in common areas for middle and high school students.
Portable hand-washing stations have been set up, 6,000 gallons of hand sanitizer purchased, as well SD43 hired more custodians for enhanced cleaning and more teachers to provide learning support for students in the gradual transition program who will start school later.
