Schools so far spared spread

50 ‘exposure events’ but none in valley

The re-opening of schools across B.C. has not led to a surge of COVID19 cases among children and teens.

Kids age 10 and under, as well as those aged 10 to 19, continue to be under-represented among those who've contracted the disease, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday.

"So what we're not seeing is schools amplifying transmission in the community," she said.

Testing rates have increased for children and teens, Henry said, with seven of 10 such tests being of a gargle-and-spit method that was pioneered in B.C.

There have been 50 COVID-19 exposure events among the 1,942 schools in B.C., none of which have been within the Central Okanagan. Many of those cases were diagnosed early in September, suggesting transmission occurred before classes resumed after Labour Day.

About 500,000 British Columbians — or 10% of the population — have now been tested for COVID-19. The positivity rate is 1.6%, which Henry said was low. The rate has not been increasing in recent weeks, Henry said. In fact, each case is now transmitting to fewer than one other person, she said.

"Which is where we want to be. That means we are having connections in our community — we are opening schools, people are going back to work — but we're having safe connections," Henry said.

Main reasons for this decline in the reproductivity rate, Henry said, include the closing for a second time of nightclubs and banquet halls, and members of the public following COVID-19 guidelines.

"This has made a difference," Henry said, saying the percentage daily change in reported cases peaked in mid-September but has been declining since then.

Between Friday and Monday, another 358 cases were confirmed province-wide, bringing the total to 9,739.

In the region served by Interior Health, 13 people tested positive since Friday, making the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic 548.

The vast majority of those people have recovered, but there have been two deaths in the IH region.