Fraser Health says it is working with the Surrey school district to manage COVID-19 variant exposures at six schools. The latest exposures are at North Surrey Secondary, Frost Road Elementary, Princess Margaret Secondary, A.J. McLellan Elementary, Woodward Hill Elementary and Sullivan Heights Secondary, according to an information bulletin from the health authority Tuesday (March 2). Six classes at four of those schools are already isolating Fraser Health adds mass testing for affected classes at North Surrey, Frost Road, Woodward Hill and Princess Margaret is underway. Fraser Health says only staff and students identified as close contacts for the exposures at A.J. McLellan and Sullivan Heights need to be tested. There have been more than a dozen possible variant exposures at Surrey schools since the end of February.
Another school “walk-in” is happening in Surrey because of the province’s refusal to bring stronger health protocols into the classroom. Surrey Teachers Association President Matt Westphal says the walk-ins are happening at A.H.P Matthew Elementary and Maple Green Elementary schools Wednesday, where recent COVID-exposures have been recorded, including a variant of concern at A.H.P Matthew Elementary. Westphal says staff are on high alert, especially with the emergence of COVID-variants. On Tuesday, the provincial government announced it was funding six rapid response teams around BC, but some advocates think that money would be better spent on adding more safety measures in schools. like, bringing in a mandatory mask mandate for all students.
The first 500-thousand doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in the country today. Federal officials are insisting they are not offering conflicting advice on who should get the newly approved Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. While Health Canada has authorized it for all adults — the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends it not be given to people 65 or older. Health Canada’s chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma says while it’s preferable to give seniors the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, seniors shouldn’t wait if they can get an AstraZeneca jab sooner. Justin Trudeau will speak this morning on candas covid 19 vaccination plan. Dr Bonnie henry is saying here in BC all adults who want the vaccine could have their first shot by July
Dr Bonnie Henry says visiting a loved one in long-term care more often will soon be possible, but don’t expect general public safety orders to ease up before the summer. As COVID-19 vaccination efforts in the province ramp up, Dr. Bonnie Henry says evidence shows us there is a high level of protection “at least in the short term after one dose.” Meaning, the timeline to be able to increase visits to long-term care moves up. B.C. reported 438 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths yesterday, B.C. also extended its state of emergency for the COVID pandemic to March 16, marking nearly one full year.
RCMP say shots were fired at an individual in Surrey last night in what they believe was a targeted attack. Police say the shots were fired from a dark-coloured vehicle at a person who fled in another vehicle. They say there is no evidence that anyone was injured in the shooting. Mounties have identified the person who was targeted and say they are known to police.
BC Ferries has announced two new fare options for travellers between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. The ferry service says its new prepaid and saver fares will reduce sailing waits along its most popular routes at the busiest times. Both fares will be available for advance purchase for the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay, Tsawwassen-Duke Point and Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay routes. The saver fare will be the least expensive option and will range from 49-dollars to about 74 dollars and will include a free Reservation.
A B-C health expert is confident the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective, suggesting a second dose can wait for four months. U-B-C adjunct infectious diseases professor Horacio Bach says giving as many people as possible a first shot will help prevent transmission. He says that method will give the virus fewer hosts to invade. Bach says the province has enough scientific evidence to back the four-month interval.
A third Surrey city council member says she’ll be donating her cut to charity after council voted itself a 2.3 per cent pay raise in a meeting that was closed to the public. This happened during an in-camera meeting in January and city staff was later authorized to release a redacted version of its report to the public. Surrey city council members gave themselves a 2.3 per cent pay raise in January during a meeting that was closed to the public. Retroactive to Jan. 21, Mayor Doug McCallum’s indemnity for 2021 has increased to $156,800 from $153,211 “to achieve better alignment with the market” while the eight council members are now each getting $79,968 instead of $78,139.
A federal advisory panel is backing B-C’s decision to increase the interval between first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines to four months from 42 days. Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry had said she expected the National Advisory Committee on Immunization to align with the move she announced on Monday. Henry said the decision was based on research in the U-K and Israel as well as evidence collected by the B-C Centre for Disease Control and in Quebec. The National Advisory Committee says extending the dose interval will create opportunities to protect the entire adult population against the virus within a short time frame.
Country legend Dolly Parton has come up with a clever way to persuade Americans to get a COVID shot. She’s tweaked the lyrics of her classic hit “Jolene” to say “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you, please don’t hesitate.” Parton sang the new COVID-19 version of the lyrics on Twitter and posted a picture of herself getting the shot on Instagram.