School exposures

Public Health will contact you directly in case of any school exposure involving your child.

Fraser Health updates this list with the notification information of possible exposures to COVID-19 within schools in the Fraser Health region. We are providing this information so school staff, students and parents can be assured that Public Health is following up in their community and exposure risks are being mitigated to the best of our ability.

At any time, if you or your child develop any symptoms of COVID-19, please seek testing and then self-isolate.

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 further instruction.

For information about exposures at schools outside of the Fraser Health region, visit BCCDC's Public Exposures page.

COVID-19 school notification process:

If a student or teacher receives a confirmed positive COVID-19 test result, Public Health follows a rigorous protocol:

• Contact tracing is initiated to determine how the individual was infected and who they were in close contact with.
• We identify and notify close contacts who may be at an increased risk, and advise them to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days.
• Only Public Health can determine who is a close contact. Learning groups, friends or other connections may not be determined to be a close contact.
• Public Health staff works closely with the school and school district throughout the case and contact management process to maintain close communication with the school community.

Learn more about how contact tracing works for schools on the BCCDC K-12 Schools website. 

If your child’s school receives a notification of exposure:

A notification does not mean your child has been exposed to COVID-19. 

If you do not receive a phone call or letter from Public Health, your child should continue to attend school. Please monitor your child for COVID-19 symptoms daily.

More information and resources regarding schools and COVID-19 is available on our school resources for parents and teachers page or the BCCDC K-12 Schools website.

Definitions:

Cluster: A school cluster is when in-school transmission is believed to have occurred between two or more individuals with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who attended the same school within a 14 day period

Exposure: A single person with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection who attended school during their infectious period. 

Functional closure: Refers to a voluntary closure of a school, either entire or in part, due to operational limitations as a result of a number of staff and/or students needing to self-isolate at home. 

Outbreak: Multiple individuals with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection when transmission is likely widespread within the school setting.

In all of these cases, public health will investigate, interview the case and conduct contact tracing. If you do not receive a phone call or letter from Public Health, your child should continue to attend school. Please follow the instructions of the local school administration and Public Health.