Almost 50 cases of COVID-19 detected at Surrey high school

Students at Earl Marriott Secondary are returning to the classroom Monday after almost 50 cases of COVID-19 were linked to five classes at the Surrey, B.C., high school just before the winter break.

In a letter to Earl Marriott staff and families of students dated Jan. 3, district superintendent Jordan Tinney says all students in the five classes were required to self-isolate over the break.

The letter said school officials are implementing further health and safety measures inside and outside the school as classes resume, with protocols being adjusted around staff rooms, common spaces and physical education classes.

Speaking to CBC News on Monday, Tinney did not give further specifics about the extended measures but he said they include keeping students as physically distanced as possible, and that details will be up to the school principal to work out.

The five classes with identified cases shared common spaces.

Tinney said the positive cases include teachers and stem from common use of the gym during physical education classes.

"We know, in this case, there were people who came to school when they were symptomatic," said Tinney on CBC's The Early Edition on Monday.

Speaking at a news conference Monday afternoon, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said it is unclear whether protocols around physical education classes around the province need to be modified, or whether procedures need to be changed at this particular school, and public health officials are looking at the situation. 

As for whether mandatory mask usage in gym classes could help, Henry said that's unlikely.

"When you're exercising … [and the masks] get moist, they're not as effective," she said. 

She said suspending physical education classes is unlikely, given that physical education is an important learning component for many students. 

No transmission outside core group: Fraser Health

Families of students in some other classes were sent letters asking to self-monitor as a precaution, but Fraser Health believes there was no transmission outside the core group, Tinney's letter said.

It reminds parents to do a daily check of their child's health and to get tested if even mild symptoms appear. It also reminds students and staff to wear masks at all times when outside of their learning groups or in common areas.

"We will learn from this episode and we will make adjustments," wrote Tinney.

Michael Musherure, an English teacher at Earl Marriott, said he is shocked by the number of cases in the school.

"I don't feel very safe but then I know our admin and the teachers have been working so hard to make sure that everybody was safe, so it is very confusing," Musherure told CBC while he was getting ready to go back to work Monday morning.

He said switching back to online classes, as B.C. did during the onset of the pandemic, could help curb infections.

Stephanie Higginson, president of the B.C. School Trustees Association, said Monday it is important for the 650,000 students and 95,000 staff members province-wide to continue to strictly follow safety plans.

"When you look at the numbers, [school] continues to be a very safe place for people to be," Higginson said during an interview on CBC's The Early Edition.

Provincial data shows that 70 per cent of B.C. schools haven't recorded any exposures to COVID-19 and just 12 per cent of cases in the province are among school-aged children.

Parental concern

But parents across the province have raised concerns about sending their kids back to school Monday without more precautions in place to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

More than 40,000 people signed a petition calling on the province to pause in-class learning for two weeks — something several other provinces have done in a bid to lower infection rates after the holidays.

Rani Senghera, spokesperson for the Surrey District Parents Advisory Council, told CBC's The Early Edition on Tuesday it took more than a week for Earl Marriott parents to learn about possible exposures at that school and that many district parents are anxious about having their kids return to class.

"We are hearing from parents that they just don't feel confident sending their kids in," said Senghera.

On Dec. 31, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said there was no need to delay school after the holidays and that a task force was working to ensure a safe return.

In an email, Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside said decisions about any changes to school timelines would be made under the provincial health officer's direction. 

Matt Westphal, president of the Surrey Teachers' Association, called the number of cases at Earl Marriott "alarming."

"It reinforces the things we have been saying all along, which is that the current safety protocols are not sufficient to deal with a place like Surrey, where there is so much virus in the community," said Westphal.

He said the association wants the Surrey school district to make masks mandatory in classrooms and to reduce the number of students in school buildings.

Senghera said she would also like to see better ventilation systems in local schools and hand-washing stations installed in all portables.

"We are just asking for basic hygiene," she said.

According to Tinney, the situation at Earl Marriott was not declared an outbreak by Fraser Health because the virus did not spread beyond the school into the community, and because an outbreak would trigger a school closure and the building has already been closed for two weeks.