A class of primary students at an elementary school in West Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»is now self-isolating after a person in their class tested positive for COVID-19.
Parents at Caulfeild Elementary received the news on Thursday. The school has since been added to , which also includes Sentinel Secondary, .
As the number of potential school exposures grows on the North Shore, some parents and teachers are also voicing frustration over what they are describing as a lack of information coming from Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Coastal Health.
Some schools that have had possible exposures or students told to self-isolate have not been added to the health authority’s list of school exposures.
Nine students at West Vancouver's Collingwood School are currently isolating after a possible exposure at the independent school, which parents were informed about Sept. 19.
Parents of students at Sept. 21 about a possible exposure to someone with the virus.
Earlier this month a group of Grade 9 students and their teacher at Mulgrave had to self-isolate after taking part in outdoor school activities with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. None of those students became ill and all are back in school.
But none of those possible exposures were publicly listed.
Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, deputy medical health officer for Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Coastal Health, by contact tracers.
Parent Coralynn Gehl, whose son attends Caulfeild Elementary, said that approach isn’t sitting well with a number of parents.
“I want the information, then I want to decide for myself what’s best for my family,” she said.
To help get the word out, Gehl runs a Facebook page West Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»COVID Information, where recently parents have been sharing notices received on COVID-19 exposures in schools. Currently about 500 people have joined and Gehl said she hopes to expand to include information about schools in North Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»as well, should any school exposures happen there.
Other Facebook pages have also sprung up that post about COVID-19 exposures reported in schools provincewide.
Meanwhile, parents aren’t the only ones who say they’d like to see more timely information from health authorities.
Renee Willock, president of the West Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Teachers Association, said if Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Coastal Health followed the policy described by the province’s medical health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry of listing all school exposures, “there would be a lot less anxiety and tension in our schools.”
The West Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»school district referred all questions to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Coastal Health.
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