Update to Fraser Health’s COVID-19 notification process

Dear students, parents, caregivers and staff,

I’m writing to let you know about a change to the COVID-19 notification process – a change that will go into effect next week.

As Fraser Health continues to hone their process as we move through this time together, they have streamlined their communications. The benefit of this will be: the new process will enable them to respond in a more timely manner when issuing notifications and it will decrease the number of emails sent to staff and families.

What will the new process look like?

• When a case has been identified within a school, the full school community will get a notification letter to let them know that contact tracing is occurring.
• If the case is linked to one or more classes, a self-monitor letter will be issued to the affected class(es).
• Additional self-monitor and/or self-isolation letters will be issued, as determined to be appropriate by the contact tracing process.
• School bulletin letters will no longer be sent (the letter previously advising that the contact tracing process was complete). Instead Fraser Health is committing to complete case and contact management within 48 hours of the notification being sent.
• School Principals will now receive letters directly from Fraser Health, via secure FTPs, to enable faster verification of confidential student and/or staff information, increasing efficiencies in the process.
• School exposures will continue to be updated daily on Fraser Health’s school exposure page: https://www.fraserhealth.ca/schoolexposures#.YDBGf2hKiUk

Beginning next week, that means students, staff and families may receive some combination of the below three letters, when there is a positive case identified at their school:

1. Notification letter: this is the general letter to the entire school community that lets people know someone there has tested positive for COVID-19, and that a case and contact management process is in the works. Receiving this letter does not mean you or your child has been exposed or that there is an increased risk. Students and staff should continue to attend school unless you have been specifically advised to do otherwise.
2. Self-monitor letter: this letter will be sent to classes or cohorts of the person who attended school while potentially infectious. The intent of the letter is to provide heightened awareness, beyond that of the daily health check, around monitoring for symptoms.
3. Self-isolation letter: individuals or groups who are identified through contact tracing as being at higher risk due to proximity to the case, or due to the nature of the exposure, will receive a self-isolation letter.

If you have general or case-specific questions around the COVID-19 notification process, please call the Fraser Health COVID-19 Call Centre at: 604.918.7532.

To continue to help make sure we’re all doing everything we can to keep our schools as safe and healthy as possible, remember that it is the responsibility of parents, staff and other adults to ensure that daily health checks are completed each day, for each person entering a school or school district facility. And if anyone is sick, they should stay home.

Sincerely,
Karim Hachlaf
Superintendent of Schools / CEO

 

Superintendent letter: February updates to Fraser Health’s COVID-19 notification process