B.C. COVID school case tracker disappointed single exposures won’t be reported

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The head of a Facebook page that tracks and reports COVID-19 notifications at B.C. schools is taking issue with the province’s decision to no longer report single notices this fall.

Only clusters and outbreaks will be reported, a change from the last school year when all cases resulted in notifications.

Kathy Marliss, who started the BC COVID School Tracker, says the decision doesn’t make sense.

“We know when there’s a case of headlice in the classroom, why wouldn’t you tell a school community when there’s a case of COVID?” she said Wednesday.

“I think it’s really important that people get information. That’s one of our life lines, our safety nets, is to be able to know where we stand in school in terms of cases and the safety of our kids.”

She says she’s “incredibly disappointed and upset” with the change, adding different families have different risk and comfort levels when it comes to COVID-19.

“Not having that information actually creates a lot of distrust and anxiety in the system,” Marliss said.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday the mass amount of notifications that were sent out in the past school year created more stress for parents.

“Every individual who’s at risk will be notified,” Henry said of potential exposures.

“We’ve heard very clearly from people that the majority of people felt that the school-based letters were more anxiety-provoking than helpful, but we will absolutely be keeping the schools informed, working with the schools, with our school response teams, to make sure that every single case in the school setting is identified, the contacts are managed, and that the people are informed about what’s happening in the school setting,” B.C.’s top doctor added.

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However, Marliss refutes that claim, saying notification of individual cases can be beneficial to many.

“I completely disagree with Dr. Bonnie Henry’s statement on anxiety in that respect. I think that information actually leads to more calm and being able to make more rational decisions,” she told NEWS 1130. “I think the anxiety piece comes in — not from letters. A, the pandemic creates anxiety, we’re in a pandemic, so it’s just a general reaction to that. Secondly, a lot of the letters that were sent out — we were glad to get something — but they were also not thorough with information. There was a lot of information missing.”

“If you’re just forthcoming and truthful, then people know where they stand and they can make calm decisions,” Marliss added.

Public health officials have repeatedly said transmission in B.C. schools has been low since the start of the pandemic, and that children are less likely to get COVID-19.

Marliss’ Facebook group has grown in popularity since the start of the school year in 2020. Many parents regularly check the page for the latest exposure notices at schools.

Marliss says she’s received an overwhelmingly positive response to the work she and others have been doing in sharing COVID-19 information at schools. She says many parents were also upset with the new directive.

Though the group won’t be able to share as much information about individual cases as it has before, Marliss says the page will remain up and that members will continue to support families however they can.