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Chartwell kindergarten class in West Van self-isolating after COVID exposure

Cleveland and Carisbrooke elementary schools in North Van also report recent coronavirus exposures.
Jane Seyd
Jane Seyd
COVID Stair Directions
Covid exposures continue to be reported in North and West Vancouver schools but transmission of the virus in schools remains low. Paul McGrath, North Shore News

A kindergarten class at West Vancouver’s Chartwell Elementary has been told to self-isolate at home for two weeks following a COVID exposure at school on Jan. 14 and 18.

The order for children and staff to isolate comes after an earlier notice to families of students in that class to monitor for symptoms.

There have also been more recent exposures in North Vancouver elementary schools.

At Ecole Cleveland, one of two Grade 6/7 French classes was exposed to the virus Jan. 20 and 21. A letter also went out to families of a class at Carisbrooke Elementary, warning of an exposure to the virus Jan. 14, 15, 19 and 20. Those students have been told to monitor for symptoms.

Those schools are just the latest to report exposures to COVID-19 since students returned to class in January.

Exposures earlier this month included a Grade 2 class at Queen Mary Community Elementary on Jan. 13 and four Grade 10 classes at St. Thomas Aquinas private school, on Jan. 13, 14 or 15 as well as at Carson Graham Secondary.

There have also been cases reported in students or staff at Ecole Pauline Johnson and Sentinel Secondary in West Vancouver.

The exposures come at a time when the number of new daily cases has plateaued in B.C. and vaccine supplies have been severely limited.

“This leaves us at a precipice, at the brink, where we can see rapid takeoff, particularly if we start to see any of these new variants starting to transmit in our community,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province’s medical health officer on Monday.

Henry has said the virus appears to be spreading through small get-togethers between households. There have been relatively few cases of the virus spreading in schools, according to health officials.

Health officials recently shared data indicating children ages five to seven account for about six per cent of COVID-19 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, although they make up 10 per cent of the population.

As of Monday, there had been 476 cases of COVID-19 in children under the age of 10 in Vancouver Coastal Health region and 959 cases in teens aged 10 to 18.