Provincial health officer outlined some early details on B.C.'s return to school plan, which revolves around vaccinating as many eligible students and staff as possible before September. (BC Government)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

COVID UPDATE

Province begins gearing up for school return amid COVID case climb

Aug 11, 2021 | 4:16 PM

NANAIMO — As potentially record-high heat returns across much of B.C. this week, public health is keeping one eye on the impending return of students to class.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry committed to students returning to in-class education when schools resume in early September, with vaccinations seen as the route towards a successful start ot he school year.

“We know from what we saw last year and what we see in communities is [the importance of] immunizing all of those who are able to be immunized, so children 12 and up who are in the school system and importantly all of the adults in the school system.”

B.C.’s seven day rolling average in September 2020 was around 100 cases per day, nearly a quarter what it is at currently.

The major difference in moving forward for public health is vaccinations, with 71.1 per cent of those aged 12 and up having received two doses of Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca.

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Dr. Henry suggested more information on vaccination requirements and B.C.’s return to school plan would come later next week.

Post-secondary institutions are also preparing to resume normal operations, with an influx of lucrative international students coming to Canada to study.

“We have plans in place and we started working with all the post secondary institutions about making sure international students can safely come into the country, that they can be vaccinated and that we’re able to assess and provide additional doses depending on what vaccines they may have received in their country of origin,” Dr. Henry said.

An update from the province on Wednesday, Aug. 11 confirmed 536 new cases from the past 24 hours, taking the number of active cases in the province to 3,585.

Just under half of all new cases were registered in Interior Health, where 2,045 active cases reside.

Of the active cases, 72 people remain in hospital including 29 in intensive care. According to the BC CDC, four residents of Island Health are in hospital.

The health authority confirmed 41 new cases on Wednesday including 15 in the central Island region, 24 to the south and two to the north.

Active cases in Island Health again rose, to 185 with 73 located on the central Island.

There is a data discrepancy between Island Health and the province, based on the timing of COVID-19 results. NanaimoNewsNOW reports local verified data from Island Health.

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