Surge in COVID19 cases results in closure of 3 schools in the Lower Mainland

With COVID19 cases rising in BC an elementary school in Surrey has become the first in BC to shut down for 2 weeks. The order is effective as of Nov 14, 2020 and is in effect until Nov 30th. President and CEO of Fraser Health Victoria Lee shared a post regarding the outbreak and the immediate closure of Cambridge Elementary School in Surrey.

1/3 We have declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Cambridge Elementary School in Surrey w/ 7 COVID-19-positive cases. As a precautionary measure to respond to this outbreak, @Fraserhealth has advised the Surrey School District to close Cambridge Elementary School for a 2-week period

— Dr. Victoria Lee (@DrVictoriaLeeFH) November 15, 2020

The post has been widely circulated on social media Surrey School District's Superintendent Jordan Tinney who is concerned about loss of instructional hours for students. 

Tonight @FraserHealth declares an outbreak at Cambridge Elementary and closes the school for 2 weeks. An important message below for Cambridge community. Letters have gone to all staff/community. More information for all tomorrow. #sd36learn #surreybc @CityofSurrey pic.twitter.com/fRlO65UIpJ

— Jordan Tinney (@jordantinney) November 15, 2020

There have been seven cases at Cambridge Elementary School in Surrey, which Fraser Health has classified as an outbreak.

Jarvis Elementary School in Delta has seen six cases, while Al-Hidayah School, an independent school in New Westminster, has seen eight. These are being described as clusters. 

According to the letter the health authority says it advised Cambridge to close for a two-week period to "break any chains of COVID-19 transmission that may be present at the school."

The release states the two other schools will close voluntarily for a two-week period, due to staffing challenges presented by the clusters, meaning students at these schools will resort to remote learning for a two weeks. 

The BC Teachers' Federation has raised their concerns regarding the Horgan Government's strategy to deal with COVID19 in the classroom. BCTF President Teri Mooring voiced her concern regarding class size in a Twitter post on Saturday. 

The #bcpoli government needs to respond swiftly to the ongoing surge of COVID19 in our communities and #bced schools, especially in Fraser Health. We're asking @jjhorgan and Ministry of Education to immediately order districts in the Fraser region to reduce class sizes to 15.

— BCTF (@bctf) November 14, 2020

#BCed teachers, support staff and students need to be able to physically distance. That's not happening in crowded classrooms, removing one of the most important layers of protection for people working in schools. #bcpoli needs to act now.

— BCTF (@bctf) November 14, 2020

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said modelling shows that so far schools have not been a major source of transmission, with nine out of 10 schools having no exposure. There have been exposures in 261 of B.C.'s 1,942 schools.