Two new COVID-19 exposures have been reported at Terrace schools.
There was an exposure at Mountain View Christian Academy (the school’s second exposure) between Dec. 8 and Dec. 10, while Caledonia Secondary School’s fourth reported exposure took place between Dec. 10 and Dec. 11, according to bulletins posted on Northern Health’s website.
Northern Health does not publicly release details about school exposures, such as the number of cases associated with exposures.
The rapid increase of COVID-19 exposures in schools prompted the Terrace District Teachers’ Union to issue a statement Dec. 15 asking for safety improvements in local schools.
The teachers’ union called for better transparency from health authorities regarding exposure notifications and contact tracing, mandatory masks, improved ventilation, reduced class sizes and more remote learning options.
It asked MLAs Ellis Ross and Nathan Cullen, as well as CMSD82 school trustees to commit to implementing the proposed measures.
The Terrace Standard reached out to Ross and Cullen for comment. Ross did not respond and requests for comment from Cullen were directed to the Ministry of Education.
“We will continue to work with the [public health officer] and our education partners to ensure K-12 guidelines and school district safety plans are providing the safest possible learning environments for students and staff as we navigate a global pandemic together,” wrote a Ministry of Education spokesperson in an email statement. “While we are seeing significant case numbers and cases with a lot of contacts, particularly in the Fraser Health region, Dr. Henry has stated that we are not seeing significant transmission in schools.”
