BCTF Research Backgrounder: BC Health Authorities’ Reporting of COVID-19 Exposure
Events in Schools
October 21, 2021
According to a recent BCTF member survey, 71% of teachers indicated they are not receiving
adequate information about COVID-19 exposures and cases in their school and district.1 This
document provides background information related to reported concerns from BCTF members
regarding lack of consistency, timeliness and accessibility of BC Provincial Health Office (PHO)
and regional health authorities’ information related to COVID-19 exposure events in BC publicschools between September–October 2021. BCTF Research staff accessed selected healthauthority and school district websites between October 18–20, 2021 to investigate how recent
COVID-19 exposure, cluster, and outbreak events have been publicly reported.
Inconsistencies in declaring exposures, clusters, and outbreaks
The problem: BCTF members are noting apparent inconsistencies in defining and declaring
COVID-19 events in BC’s K–12 education sector compared to other sectors. This lack ofconsistency is causing confusion and undermining confidence in regional health authorities
amongst some teachers, parents, the broader school community, and media outlets.
What’s happening: Terms such as “exposure” or “potential exposure,” “cluster” and “outbreak”
are used to describe the escalating presence of COVID-19 in various settings including hospitals,
long term care residences, workplaces, entertainment venues, and schools. It has been observed
that, in the context of schools, there is an extremely high bar for what constitutes an “outbreak”
in a school setting, to the point where the term is virtually never used. This is not the case inother settings, such as hospitals. In a hospital setting there is a clear definition of what constitutes
an outbreak. For example, Island Health states:“An outbreak is recognized if three or more cases of patients and/or staff occur within adesignated time frame and in a confined area or unit.2 In contrast, in the K–12 school setting,outbreaks are defined differently and their declaration discretionary.”
The following SD 41 (Burnaby) document explains this:“Cases and clusters of COVID-19 are expected in school settings given that COVID-19 iscirculating in the community. These occurrences are not considered outbreaks. The declarationof an outbreak of COVID-19 or any other communicable disease in a school setting is at thediscretion of the school medical officer. This is expected to occur rarely, and only when
exceptional measures are needed to control transmission.”31The BCTF Health and Safety Survey was fielded online between September 22–October 11, 2021. Of a random
sample of 15,378 BCTF members, 6,183 completed surveys were received. Resulting margin of error: +/-1.0%, 19times out of 20. Report is forthcoming.
2
https://www.islandhealth.ca/learn-about-health/infection-prevention-control-ipac/frequently-asked-questions
3
https://burnabyschools.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/BSD-Communicable-Disease-Prevention-COVID-19-StaffHandbook-for-2021-10-05.pdf

As of October 20, 2021, when accessing the various Health Authority websites to see updated
information on COVID-19 in schools, one can only see “potential exposure events.” There are noclusters or outbreaks visibly reported. Often the same school will have “potential exposureevents” multiple days in a row—as in this example from the Interior Health website for SD 5
(South East Kootenay):CitySchool Name

Potential Exposure EventCranbrook

TM Roberts Elementary School

Oct. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Cranbrook

Parkland Middle School

Oct. 4, 5, 6, 8

Cranbrook

Laurie Middle School

Oct. 6, 7, 8

Cranbrook

Amy Woodland Elementary School

Oct. 4, 5

Cranbrook

Pinewood Elementary

Oct. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13

Such ambiguities about when a series of exposures constitutes a “cluster” or “outbreak” havecreated situations where teachers and families feel uninformed about the extent of a COVID-19
event and unable to respond with appropriate enhanced prevention measures. They are also left
to question if COVID-19 clusters are occurring in their school but are not being reported as such.
According to less frequently accessed reports, we know clusters have occurred during the2021–22 school year. For example, the October 2021 Situation Report for BC
Schools4indicated:“Interior Health Authority reported 80 clusters where COVID-19 transmission may haveoccurred in the classroom setting during the first five weeks of the 2021-2022 school year. Theclusters, which consist of two or more cases, were reported in 46 (12%) K-12 schools.”
The same report also indicates that a cluster reporting system across the province is currently indevelopment and that data from that provincial reporting system for COVID-19 clusters in K–12
schools are expected to inform future reports, but no timeline has been given (see page 14). Until
then, the lack of clear and easily accessed information about the severity of COVID-19 events isleaving teachers and caregivers uncertain about how to stay safe and prevent further spread ofCOVID-19 between their students’ close contacts both inside and outside of school. Receiving
this information retrospectively adds to the view that there is a lack of transparency in thereporting of COVID-19 in schools.

4

http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Info-Site/Documents/COVID_sitrep/K12_Situation_Report/SitRep_K12_October_2021.pdf

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Further, over-reliance on the term “exposure” in school settings is creating a situation wherevaried terms are circulating in the media. As this headline and subheading from an October 12,2021 article in the Vancouver Sun illustrate, the term “active exposure” is being used to describe
COVID-19 events:
COVID-19: Fraser Health schools have 30 times more active exposures than those in Vancouver
Coastal Health: None of Fraser Health’s 13 school districts are without a COVID-19 exposure—and 8 of those districts have more than 10 active exposures”5
It is unclear what “active exposures” are and how they differ from “exposures” and “potentialexposure events.”
What needs to happen: How can the PHO work to ensure more consistency and clarity incriteria for and declarations of exposures, clusters, and outbreaks across all sectors, so as toincrease confidence in public school safety? A recommended action is that the PHO immediately
review BC regional health authorities’ terminology, criteria, and wording to ensure consistency
with PHO and BCCDC published guidelines about exposures, clusters, and outbreaks on
websites, in communications and in public information resources.
Lack of timeliness of contact tracing and notification
The problem: Some BCTF members are reporting that they find out about exposures in theirschool or classroom from community sources rather than being formally notified throughregional health authority exposure and contact tracing notifications. There are reported delays inreceiving exposure notifications, particularly in the Northern Health region.
What’s happening: Limited to publicly available information (and not internal schoolcommunications), we have included this example below to show current School District 57(Prince George) messaging on the topic of timelines with respect to notifications:
If Northern Health identifies anyone at the school that needs to self-monitor or self isolate, they
will be contacted directly by Northern Health. That contact often occurs within 24 to 48 hours,
however, may be shorter or longer depending on the circumstances. This may be in the formof a letter or a phone call.6
What needs to happen: How informed is the Provincial Health Office about whether posted
timelines (e.g., the one indicated above) are actually being achieved? Is the PHO monitoring
actual (not policy) timelines for COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and notification processes inrelation to school exposure events? Where contact tracing and notifications are not occurring in atimely way, the PHO must allocate additional resources to improve the speed of exposure
notifications within BC’s health authorities.

5

See https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-fraser-health-schools-have-30-times-more-activeexposures-than-those-in-vancouver-coastal-health6

https://www.sd57.bc.ca/covid/exposure/Documents/COVID-19%20Exposure%20Notification%20FAQ%2009-29-21.pdf

3Shifting policies for exposure notification and contact tracing
The problem: Finally, the Federation is hearing concerns regarding variable reporting of andresponses to school-based COVID-19 exposures. In particular, there are reports ofinconsistencies with how exposure notifications are communicated and if and when contact
tracing is carried out.
What’s happening: Analysis of BCCDC and BC regional health authorities’ policies posted on
their respective websites indicates variable information for exposure notification which may becontributing to frustration and confusion expressed by some BCTF members and the broader
school community.
For example, in the Northern Health region, School District 57 (Prince George) website
currently states:“[a]ny individual deemed to be at risk of exposure would be contacted directly by NorthernHealth.” In contrast, the School District 60 (Peace River North) website indicates:“General letters to the entire school will be replaced by the website notifications...Letters may besent home to select close contacts as determined by Northern Health.”
Meanwhile, the Fraser Health region website indicates:
Public health provides case and contact management for all positive cases of COVID-19 inschools. If you or your child have been identified as a COVID-19 positive case or close contact,
be assured that Fraser Health’s Public Health team will contact you directly and provide furtherinstruction.
At the same time, the School District 36 (Surrey) website states:“Public health has informed all school districts in the province that exposure letters for the entire
school community will no longer be issued, but will be posted on health authority websites.
Public health will still continue to closely monitor transmission in school settings and manage
contacts. Only those individuals who may have been exposed will be contacted by public health.
Outbreaks will also continue to be reported.”
The BCCDC’s Public Health Communicable Disease Guidance for K-12 Schools (updatedOctober 1, 2021) states:
Public health will send general notification letters to the broader school community or [emphasisadded] post the information to Regional Health Authority websites if it is necessary for contact
tracing or outbreak management, in line with notification practices for other community andworkplace settings. (p. 7)
Further, some Health Authorities are only posting exposure notices to the broader community if
there is a risk of ongoing transmission of COVID-19 to others they weren’t able to contact
directly through contact tracing.

4Vancouver Coastal Health states:“When a school community member receives a positive COVID-19 test, Public Health will
notify the case of their test result and determine who they were in contact with while they wereinfectious (including at school), and follow up with those contacts as well. If there is anincreased risk of ongoing transmission of COVID-19 to groups they were a part of (e.g., a class),a school exposure notice will be posted below.” (emphasis added)
Vancouver Island Health states:“Island Health will post exposure notifications to this website when a person (staff or student)
attended school while infectious and when there is an increased risk of COVID-19 to thegroups they were a part of while infectious.” (emphasis added)
Contradictory messaging across health authority and school district websites as well as varying
descriptions of contact tracing and exposure notification methods may be contributing toconcerns about obtaining dependable guidance and alerts about COVID-19 exposures in BCschools.
What needs to happen: How is the PHO working toward broader consistency and increased
effectiveness of exposure notification processes across BC health authorities? How is the PHO
promoting clear public messaging as to whether exposure notifications are being posted to a
Health Authority website or sent directly to individuals and the school community? The
examples above underscore the BCTF’s call for more transparent, consistent, and up-to-date
exposure notification information and processes, and for the PHO to review current
inconsistencies in BC health authorities’ messaging about exposures.
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