‘Schools are safe’: SD23 doing everything it can to curb virus

SD23 superintendent Kevin Kaardal stressed schools are safe

Phil McLachlan / Nov. 18, 2020 1:11 p.m.

School District 23 (SD23) is confident everything that can be done to reduce potential COVID-19 transmissions is in place.

SD23 superintendent/CEO Kevin Kaardal continues to stress that schools are safe.

“We really care about your kids, and we care about our staff, and we’re doing everything that we can to reduce the risk of transmission,” Kaardal said.

Almost daily, new cases have been announced at schools across the school district this past week.

At Ecole Kelowna Secondary School (KSS), a number of exposures have been announced in the past few weeks.

Kaardal stressed the cases at the schools have been a result of non-symptomatic individuals entering the schools, isolated exposure cases.

Those infected so far, he said, have been both staff and students.

In some cases, numerous individuals have entered into self-isolation as directed by Interior Health.

Kaardal again stressed this has been done out of an abundance of caution.

He said the school district has encountered only one case involving an individual who came to school knowing they were sick.

“People have been really careful to not come to school sick, whether staff or students,” he said.

He added that as soon as individuals have symptoms, they are getting tested.

He acknowledged it seems as though there are many cases at KSS, however, compared to the roughly 2,000 students at the school, he said the number of cases are below one per cent.

He said KSS case numbers are simply reflecting the numbers occurring in the community.

He is encouraged by the fact Interior Health region is not experiencing the same numbers of COVID-19 cases seen in the Lower Mainland.

He’s also encouraged by conversations with local health officers.

“Medical (Interior Health) health officers continue to tell me they are very pleased regarding the fact there doesn’t seem to be transmission in schools, and if there is, it’s very minimal and being caught by the protocols we have in place to reduce that risk,” he said.

He feels it remains critical for kids to attend school.

“I think the really important message is that schools are really important for kids, for their academic development, mental and social health,” Kaardal said.

“The risks of not having school far outweigh the current experience we’re having in schools.”

Kaardal acknowledged the fear and uncertainty about the pandemic in the community. “It’s quite understandable, and we encourage people to contact their principals and have a conversation.”

There, principals can share with community members SD23’s ‘robust and layered’ plan to keep students and staff safe while learning, he noted.

“If there’s worry, then I think you need to do your part to close down your bubble, and let’s get this under control in the community,” Kaardal said.

“All of us have our personal responsibility to follow the directions of Bonnie Henry, reduce our bubbles, stop social activities outside…let’s get this curve flattened.

“A safe community means safer schools.”

COVID-19 restrictions curtail Okanagan events

Theatre’s announce postponed and cancelled shows

Jennifer Smith / Nov. 20, 2020 12:30pm

The curtain is closing on some upcoming events, for now.

The latest COVID-19 restrictions put into place by Dr. Bonnie Henry Thursday, Nov. 19 have forced shows to postpone and cancel provincewide, including the North Okanagan.

The Nov. 20 Sycamore String Quartet dual performances and Nov. 28 Jill Barber shows at Lake Country’s Creekside Theatre are postponed. Mike Delamont’s Nov. 29 comedy show has been cancelled at Creekside.

“The bad is that people don’t get to have a socially distanced laugh in a stressful time and I don’t get to make any money for the 15 cancelled shows,” said Delamont, who recently performed in Vernon and thoroughly enjoyed the intimate 50-person gathering with the audience seated on stage.

“The good is that this is the absolute right thing to do. Trying to lessen the devastation of this second wave is priority one and I am so thankful to Dr. Bonnie Henry and the provincial health authority for making the right call. This is the right thing to do and if theatres shutting and shows getting cancelled across the province means less folks get COVID it will be worth it.”

The new restrictions on gatherings and events are in place until Dec. 7.

Shows scheduled in Vernon are also at a standstill.

The Powerhouse Theatre’s Dec. 3-10 performances of A Night of One Acts have been postponed with new dates to be announced. Ticket sales for the theatre’s A Christmas Carol have also been suspended until Dec. 8.

The curtain has also closed on activity at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre.

“With the current B.C. wide restrictions, we are on recording hiatus for two weeks,” the theatre said. “Two weeks cannot go by fast enough! Masks on and stay safe everyone!”

LETTER: Teachers union encourages culture of mask wearing in B.C. schools

Nov. 24, 2020 1:41pm

Dear parents,

B.C.’s teachers care deeply about our students, your children.

We are all working incredibly hard to make sure they are safe and receiving the best education possible during this terrible pandemic.

Nothing about this school year has been easy and all of us are feeling stress and anxiety. We’re worried about COVID-19 affecting our students, our families and ourselves. Making sure our schools and classrooms are safe for our children and yours has been the top priority for us all.

Now, as B.C. is gripped by this surging second wave of the coronavirus, we’re reaching out to you for some help.

While masks are not mandatory at all times in schools, we’re hoping you can help us support a culture of mask wearing. Some schools have already taken this step. The school community has come together and made mask wearing normal and expected. It really helps everyone in our schools feel safer. We need to be doing all we can to ensure we keep each other safe. No one wants to bring COVID-19 home to their families.

We know there are students and staff members who for various reasons can’t wear masks. And, there are some learning situations where masks aren’t appropriate. That’s all OK. Our school communities have a lot of experience making sure people are included and treated with kindness and respect.

By talking to your children about wearing their masks in school, you can help us create that respectful culture of mask wearing.

BCTF members, your children’s teachers, are committed to providing our students with supportive and enriching learning environments. We also need them to be safe. Please help make that happen. We encourage you to talk to your children and encourage them to wear masks.

Teri Mooring,

President,

BC Teachers’ Federation

Disclaimer, this information may not be accurate. Rather, it serves as an archive of the information that circulated in the media during the month of November.

BC extends state of emergency and introduces fines for those who refuse to comply with mask rules

Josh Duncan / Nov. 24, 2020 5:15pm

For the 19th time since it was declared in the spring, British Columbia’s state of emergency due to COVID-19 has been extended for another two weeks.

It’s now in effect until the end of the day on Dec. 8, at which point it will almost certainly be extended for a 20th time.

"We've entered a second wave of COVID-19 in British Columbia and additional steps need to be taken to protect our health," Farnworth said.

"Now more than ever, we all need to follow the guidelines of the provincial health officer (PHO). Last week, the PHO provided guidance that masks should be worn in all indoor public places.”

The order on wearing masks is just one measure the government has introduced under the Emergency Program Act, which is made possible by the state of emergency.

Masks are now required to be worn by all British Columbians, 12 years and older, in indoor public places that includes:

Malls, shopping centres, coffee shops, and retail and grocery stores.
Liquor and drug stores.
Airports, city halls, libraries, community and recreation centres.
Restaurants, pubs and bars.
Places of public worship.
On public transportation, in a taxi or ride-sharing vehicle.
Common areas of office buildings, court houses, hospitals and hotels.
Common areas of sport and fitness centres when not engaged in physical activity.
Common areas of post-secondary institutions and non-profit organizations.

Effective immediately, anyone without a mask in an indoor public place who refuses to comply with the direction of an enforcement officer may be subject to a $230 fine.

The fine could also be levied against a person who refuses to leave that space or responds to enforcement officers with abusive or belligerent behaviour.

"People who cannot wear a mask or who cannot put on or remove a mask without the assistance of others are exempt," said a government release.

"A person may not be able to wear a mask for a psychological, behavioural or health condition, or due to a physical, cognitive or mental impairment."

Emergency Management BC anticipates issuing further orders to enforce requirements for masks in common areas of apartment buildings, condos and workplaces.

Effects of COVID clampdown on local business must be considered

Jeffrey Robinson / Nov. 27, 2020 9:42am

The strict public health orders in effect through Dec. 7 have been met with broad public acceptance in Kelowna.

However, these orders are not without controversy, and a robust, informed debate about them serves us all.

Unfortunately, there have been troubling incidents where opposition to these orders has been a pretext for hostile and uncivil behaviour directed at small business owners and their employees.

This must stop. Many small business owners are now facing the greatest challenges of their lives.

The hardships of the pandemic have struck them harder than most. They persevere under financial, mental, and emotional strains that few of us can fully appreciate.

We should be grateful for what they do and be appalled that anyone would use them as unwilling props in breathtakingly selfish protest stunts.

Having spoken with several small businesses, both for profit and not-for-profit, I know there is a diversity of views on the current public health orders.

Many owners and employees do not agree with the mask mandate and other restrictions now in place.

For good reason, they are demanding more transparency, more data, and more accountability from those who now tell them how they must run their businesses. But these same people also recognize that they are bound to follow these orders, which have force of law, until responsible advocacy brings about different ones.

Now is the time when local businesses need the full support of our community. When it comes to public health matters, we can support our local businesses two key ways.

First, we must follow the letter and spirit of public health orders.

Reasonable people can disagree about what public health orders are appropriate for current conditions, but it cannot be disputed that wearing masks and reducing our unmasked interactions will reduce the spread of coronavirus.

If the recent trend of sharply rising case numbers is not arrested further, restrictions on business and leisure activities are in our future. We need only look to Toronto, the Peel region, and the United States for what restrictions may yet come.

For many small businesses and the families that depend on them, more restrictive measures or even a full lockdown, especially at the critical Christmas shopping period, will make for a devastating end to an already hard year.

Doing your small part to reduce the spread of coronavirus over these next weeks is critical. Setting aside our personal views on masks for the time it takes to order coffee is the least we can do to save the local businesses that animate our community.

The second way we can support local businesses is to continually remind our elected and public health officials that effects on local business must be a vital consideration in their decision-making. By this, I do not suggest that their decisions to date have been uninformed, misguided, or poorly considered. My point is that any set of restrictions that falls between the pre-COVID status quo and a shelter-in-place lockdown reflects value judgments, and in a democracy it is our responsibility to impress on our leaders what values matter to us.

Anyone who has experienced Kelowna knows that our small businesses and not-for-profit organizations are essential to the diversity, vitality, and authenticity of our city. They are an indispensable part of what makes Kelowna an attraction to visitors and a treasure to us.

Caring about Kelowna means using your voice and the voice of Kelowna business — the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce — to tell your local elected officials, your health minister, your premier and your prime minister that the survival of these businesses deserves to be a primary factor in public health decisions.

As we approach the holidays, our thoughts naturally turn to what we can do for others. This season, we must take personal responsibility for what this pandemic does to our community over the coming months. This means wearing a mask, washing our hands, limiting our interactions, and abiding by the public health orders issued by our democratically elected government.

It also means paying close attention to our government’s decision-making and reminding our leaders that local business matters.

Jeffrey Robinson is president of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce

RE: School Community Member Tested Positive for COVID-19

Nov. 25, 2020

Dear Families,

A member of the Kelowna Senior Secondary community has tested positive for COVID-19. They are self-isolating at home with support from local public health teams. The individual was present on the school campus on November 12. They followed school safety protocols. To ensure personal privacy rights are maintained, we will not be providing additional details.

We are supporting Interior Health as they undertake contact tracing to determine if any other members of our school community were in contact with the person who tested positive for COVID-19, and if any additional steps are required. We are following the protocol established for these circumstances:

• The health authority is performing contact tracing;

• The health authority will determine if anyone in the school community was in contact with the person who tested positive for COVID-19 while they were potentially infectious;

• The health authority will determine if anyone in the school community is a close contact that is required to self-isolate.

Only the health authority can determine who is a close contact. If you are contacted by Interior health, please follow their advice.

If you are not contacted by Interior Health, it has been determined that your child is not at risk of developing COVID-19.

The safety and well-being of our students, families and staff remains our highest priority. Please be reassured that Kelowna Senior Secondary will continue to implement the strict protocols and procedures we have in place so that children can continue to attend school as safely as possible.

Students should continue to come to school while contact tracing is underway. As a reminder, please continue daily health checks to monitor your child for illness.

We will continue to work closely with Interior Health to provide ongoing communication as required.

If you have questions or concerns about COVID-19, please call 811.

Sincerely,

Kevin Kaardal Superintendent of Schools/CEO