Dozens more COVID-19 exposure notices issued at B.C. schools
Posted December 10, 2020 9:57 am.
Last Updated December 11, 2020 11:14 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – There were another 42 COVID-19 exposure notices issued at schools across the province in the past day.
The bulk of them were in the Fraser Health region.
BC school #covid19 exposure event notices Dec 9/9pm
2/3 @Fraserhealth-1#bcpoli #bced @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/iEXKbPjhvR— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) December 10, 2020
At this point, a third of B.C. schools have had an exposure event.
Some advocates have called for an extension to the winter break in light of the COVID-19 situation across the province, but Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are no plans to do that.
Challenges that come with keeping students home from school for extended periods of time include childcare options. Many parents have said they can’t afford to stay home from work if their kids were forced out of the classroom early for winter break — something Henry has said needed to be considered.
Meanwhile, the recent decision to not extend or begin the winter break at schools earlier in B.C. has highlighted a communication gap between the province and teachers.
The BC Teachers’ Federation said earlier this week that neither it nor the steering committee had been consulted on the decision. However, the province’s education minister has said discussions did include “education partners,” just not formally at the steering committee.
