COVID-19 in young kids rising ‘dramatically’ in B.C.

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) — Since school began, B.C. is seeing a concerning rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in children.

Recent numbers from the BC Centre for Disease Control show 1,086 new cases in people who are 17 and under, and more than half of the cases are in children between 5-11.

According to B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, some of the cases are very serious.

“We have seen two cases in the zero to four age group who have been hospitalized, and one child each in five to 11 and 12 to 17 who have needed to have hospital care in the last week,” Henry said Tuesday during the weekly COVID-19 briefing.

One of the cases, a child under five, was so sick they were treated in the critical care ward. There have been no new COVID-19 deaths in children in B.C.  since last year, when a toddler and a baby died.

“The rates that we are seeing right now of COVID-19 per 100,000 population is growing up quite dramatically, particularly in those younger school-aged children who are not yet eligible for vaccination,” she said.

She adds rates have gone up but levelled off in people aged 12 to 17, due to that age group being eligible to be vaccinated. Health Canada has not yet approved vaccines for children younger than 12.

Low community vaccination rates linked to higher cases in kids

Henry says the province is able to tell which areas have a higher percentage of pediatric COVID-19 cases, and  it is linked to regions where the vaccination rates are lower. She says case rates were increasing prior to school starting in both the Interior and the Northern Health regions. But recently they are seeing hospitals overwhelmed with cases in the Fraser Health region, east of Vancouver.

“This reflects the vaccination rates in those communities and the fact we are seeing a transmission of the virus in those communities and that of course affects families, and it affects children and translates into children in school settings as well,” she said.

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On Tuesday, new restrictions were introduced in the Eastern Fraser Valley region, where vaccination rates remain low in Abbotsford, Hope, Chilliwack, Agassiz, Mission, and Harrison.

Henry announced the latest order following “a notable rise in cases in schools.”

At least two schools in the region have been closed due to COVID-19 cases. Abbotsford Christian School moved classes to online learning only starting Tuesday morning until October in hopes it will “break the circuit of the virus that is moving through our school community,” a letter to parents said.

Last week, 20 cases were linked to an outbreak at Chilliwack’s Promontory Heights Elementary School, which remains closed until Oct. 3.

Looking at infection rates up against community vaccination rates. Looking regionally can see, DBH says, higher infection rates in kids who can’t be vaccinated in regions where there are lower rates of vaccination of those who can be vaxxed.#bcpoli @NEWS1130 #covid19 #bced pic.twitter.com/XoFlvmLBmK

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) September 28, 2021

Masks for all kids not supported by all

The shocking new numbers come on the heels of an effort to bring in more health measures in schools.

But so far, only one district has agreed to move beyond the province’s guidelines, which only require students in grade four and older to wear a mask.

On Tuesday night, the New Westminster School Board voted no on a motion to bring in mask rules for all grades, according to the New Westminster Record.

The New Westminster Parent Advisory Council made its pitch to trustees after it penned a letter to the province. Several other parent advisory councils also signed the letter, which called for masks for everyone, as well as rapid testing in schools, and a vaccine mandate for teachers.

The Vancouver School Board passed a motion Monday extending the mask mandate to include students from kindergarten to grade three, becoming the first district in the B.C. to do so.

Several teachers and parents applauded the decision, calling for it to be implemented in their districts as well.

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With files from Nikitha Martins