With less than two weeks to go before winter break and vaccines beginning to roll out for elementary school-aged children, New Westminster schools appear to be seeing a rise in COVID-19 exposure reports.
After a relatively quiet week last week – when only two school exposures were reported in New West – this week is already off to a somewhat bumpy start.
Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School was listed on the Fraser Health school exposures website over the weekend for an exposure Nov. 29 and 30. This morning (Dec. 7), the site also shows Dec. 1, 2 and 3. In total, it appears there were at least three exposures over those five days, since a "self-monitor" letter sent to families reflects an exposure on Nov. 30, Dec. 1 and 2.
École Qayqayt Elementary School has also seen back-to-back exposure reports, first being listed for Nov. 26, 29 and 30, and then for Dec. 1 and 3. (At least one self-isolation letter was sent out for Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 1 and 3.)
Fraser River Middle School was also back on the site today for the second time in the past two weeks; an exposure (or exposures) on Nov. 29 and 30 follows an earlier exposure Nov. 19.
An "exposure" means someone who has since tested positive for COVID-19 was in the school during their potentially infectious period on the date or dates in question and other people may be at risk of having come in contact with the virus. Health officials do not publish the number of cases involved, so it's not known whether the dates involve one person or multiple cases.
Ten of School District 40's 12 schools have seen COVID-19 exposures so far this school year, as have two independent schools in New Westminster. So far, F.W. Howay Elementary School and Queensborough Middle School have had no reported exposures in this school year.
COVID EXPOSURES IN NEW WESTMINSTER SCHOOLS
Here’s what has transpired in the 2021/22 school year so far in New Westminster:
- École Qayqayt Elementary: Sept. 8 (reported by B.C. School COVID Tracker; predated change to Fraser Health notifications)
- École Qayqayt Elementary: Sept. 20, 21, 22 (reported by B.C. School COVID Tracker; predated change to Fraser Health notifications)
- Urban Academy (independent): Sept. 22, 23, 24 (reported on Fraser Health site Sept. 29)
- Herbert Spencer Elementary: Sept. 21 (reported on Fraser Health site Oct. 1)
- Lord Kelvin Elementary: Sept. 24 (reported on Fraser Health site Sept. 29)
- Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary: Sept. 21, 22, 23, 24 (reported on Fraser Health site Oct. 1; B.C. School COVID Tracker confirms this is at least three separate cases)
- New Westminster Secondary: Sept. 22, 23, 24 (reported on Fraser Health site Oct. 3)
- Lord Kelvin Elementary: Sept. 22, 23, 28 (dates added on Fraser Health site Oct. 3)
- New Westminster Secondary: Sept. 28 (date added on Fraser Health site Oct. 4)
- Urban Academy (independent): Sept. 27, 28 (dates added on Fraser Health site Oct. 1)
- Glenbrook Middle School: Sept. 25, 26, 28, 29, Oct. 1 (listed on Fraser Health site Oct. 7)
- École Qayqayt Elementary School: Sept. 27, 28, 29, Oct. 1 (dates added on Fraser Health site Oct. 7)
- Skwo:wech Elementary School: Sept. 23, 24, 27, 28, 29 (listed on Fraser Health site Oct. 7)
- École Qayqayt Elementary School: Oct. 4,5 (listed on Fraser Health site Oct. 9; B.C. School COVID Tracker confirms this is at least two separate exposures)
- New Westminster Secondary: Oct. 4, 5, 6 (dates added on Fraser Health site Oct. 9)
- École Qayqayt Elementary School: Oct. 5, 6, 7, 8 (B.C. School COVID Tracker confirms at least two separate exposures involving this date range, with emails sent Oct. 11)
- École Qayqayt Elementary School: Oct. 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 (separate case from above; one full class sent into isolation)
- Fraser River Middle School: Oct. 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15 (reported on Fraser Health site Oct. 19)
- Lord Kelvin Elementary School: Oct. 14, 15 (reported on Fraser Health site Oct. 20)
- New Westminster Secondary School: Oct. 15, 18 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 22)
- New Westminster Secondary School: Oct. 13, 19, 20 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 23)
- Urban Academy (independent): Oct. 18, 19 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 24)
- New Westminster Secondary School: Oct. 21 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 27)
- Al-Hidayah (independent): Oct. 18, 20, 21, 22 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 27)
- Al-Hidayah (independent): Oct. 25 (added on Fraser Health site Oct. 31)
- École Qayqayt Elementary School: Oct. 25, 26 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 2)
- Lord Kelvin Elementary School: Nov. 1, 2, 3 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 8)
- Queen Elizabeth Elementary School: Nov. 1, 2 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 8)
- Skwo:wech Elementary School: Nov. 1, 2, 3, 4 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 9)
- Connaught Heights Elementary School: Nov. 3, 4, 5 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 10)
- Fraser River Middle School: Nov. 2 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 13)
- Al-Hidayah School: Nov. 2, 3, 4 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 12)
- Glenbrook Middle School: Nov. 15 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 21)
- Herbert Spencer: Nov. 16, 17, 18 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 22)
- Glenbrook Middle School: Nov. 17 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 24)
- Fraser River Middle School: Nov. 19 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 25)
- Urban Academy: Nov. 17, 18, 19 (added on Fraser Health site Nov. 25)
- Connaught Heights: Nov. 29 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 2)
- École Qayqayt Elementary School: Nov. 26, 29, 30 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 3)
- New Westminster Secondary School: Nov. 26, 30, Dec. 2 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 4)
- Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School: Nov. 29, 30 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 4)
- École Qayqayt Elementary School: Dec. 1, 3 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 6)
- Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School: Dec. 1,2 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 7)
- Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School: Dec. 3 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 7; appears to be separate exposure from Dec. 1/2 based on self-monitoring letter sent to families)
- Fraser River Middle School: Nov. 29, 30 (added on Fraser Health site Dec. 7)
WHERE TO FIND OUT ABOUT NEW WESTMINSTER SCHOOL EXPOSURES
Fraser Health
New Westminster school exposures are listed at Fraser Health’s school exposures webpage.
B.C. School COVID Tracker
This parent-run database uses information provided directly by parents and verified by official health authority letters. There's a searchable database online.
Exposure Watch
This site, created by New Westminster parent Gabriel Bauman, provides a listing of COVID-19 "hotspots" in B.C. schools, as well as a search function to find out school-specific information. Parents can also sign up for exposure alerts and report exposures. (Note that the listings may include both confirmed and unconfirmed exposures; they are identified as such, with confirmed exposures including documentation.)
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
Email Julie, [email protected].
