Fraser Valley parents say more info needed on COVID-19 exposures in schools after dance academy outbreak

Fraser Valley parents like Katie Bartel say Fraser Health is not doing enough when it comes to sharing information about COVID-19 exposures in schools.

Two of Bartel's three daughters Livi, in Grade 7, and Sofie, in Grade 6 attend A. D. Rundle Middle School in Chilliwack and are in the same learning cohort.

Also in their cohort, Bartel said, is a student who testedpositive for COVID-19 after attending Capella Dance Academy in Chilliwack, the site of a "superspreader" outbreak connected to 38 cases and 13 schools as of Wednesday.

Bartel said Livi attended classes with the student, a friend, Oct. 27 to 29.

On Oct. 30, the family received what she called a "vague" exposure notification that didn't say which cohort was affected or if it was a student or staff member infected.

On Oct. 31, Livi's friend tested positive. The friend told others about the positive test Nov. 1. Bartel's kids weren't showing symptoms but began self-isolating as a precaution.

It wasn't until thelate afternoon of Nov. 3, at least six days after the exposure, that Bartel said Fraser Health directed Livi to self-isolate. Then on Nov. 4, Sofie was directed to self-monitor.

Bartel believes Fraser Health should have said which cohort was exposed on Oct. 30 and on Nov. 1 should have told close contacts to keep kids home from school instead of putting the onus on parents to inform each other.

"That's a huge concern for me," Bartel said. "I just want to have the information as a parent to decide whether I'm going to be taking this extra risk now to be sending my child to school or make the choices to keep them home."

It's a concern shared by others in the Fraser Health region which has led the province in active cases for weeks and beyond.

'The virus dictates the timelines'

Chilliwack Coun. Jason Lum says he has heard "quite a bit of concern" about contact tracing and information sharing by Fraser Health.

People are asking questions: Who needs to be notified when exposures happen? How quickly? What protocols need to be followed by residents and businesses?

"I've got nothing but respect for the health-care professionals that have been leading us through the pandemic This has been an extremely challenging situation," Lum said.

"There is room, here, for improvement, I think."

Dr. Victoria Lee, CEO of Fraser Health, said contact tracers often deal with language barriers, inaccurate contact info, people not answering phones and a fear of being stigmatized that causes people not to report key details.

"The virus dictates the timelines and guides how we issue notifications and confirmations and, if necessary, declare an outbreak," Lee said on a conference call with reporters.

'The measures that are there are working'

Kathy Marliss says the fact her Facebook page, B.C. School COVIDTracker, has over 26,000 followers is a sign parents across the province don't have enough information.

The page allows parents to post exposure notices from their kids' schools because Marlissfeels officials aren't sharing them fast enough.

Marliss said parents were posting about school exposures connected to the dance academy outbreak "probably about a week" before health notices went out.

"Which is a big problem because that's the safety piece: being able to communicate and let people know so they can isolate," Marliss said.

She said these delays and a lack of transparency are hurting parents' confidence in sending their kids to school and their ability to make informed choices.

Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin, chief medical health officer for Fraser Health, said schools are safer than other settings when it comes to COVID-19.

While there have been many exposure events, few have resulted in transmission.

"The measures that are there are working and we will be keeping our schools open," Brodkin said.