Northern Health declared a COVID-19 outbreak at St. Ann’s Catholic School in Quesnel on Tuesday.
A total of 27 cases have been linked to the outbreak, as a result of several smaller clusters of cases.
The Catholic Independent Schools Kamloops Diocese voluntarily closed the school on Nov. 10, and the school will remain closed to in-person instruction while Northern Health undertakes case and contact management.
While people who tested positive for COVID-19 were in the school during their infectious period, it does not mean they contracted the disease in the school, a statement issued by Northern Health said.
Everyone ages 12 and over is eligible to register for and receive their COVID-19 immunization, and parents of children ages 5 to 11 are encouraged to register now to be notified when it is time to book an appointment. On Tuesday, B.C. public health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix announced that vaccination of children aged five and older will begin on Monday.
To register yourself or your child, go online to gov.bc.ca/getvaccinated.
In Prince George, Northern Health has reported three COVID-19 exposures at Immaculate Conception School, two exposures at Cedars Christian School and one exposure each at Springwood Elementary and Polaris Montessori Elementary so far this month.
COVID CLAIMS LIFE IN NORTHERN HEALTH REGION
On Tuesday, the B.C. Ministry of Health reported one new COVID-related death in the Northern Health region. The death brings the region’s death toll from the pandemic to 246.
Sixty new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Northern Health region on Tuesday, however the number of active cases dropped to 444 – down from 528 on Monday.
There were 48 Northern Health residents hospitalized with COVID-19, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported on Tuesday. Of those 48, 17 were listed in critical care.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 17,249 cases of COVID-19 in the north, of which 16,529 people have recovered.
As of Tuesday, 402,755 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the Northern Health region, the B.C. CDC reported.
As of Nov. 18, 81 per cent of eligible people in the Prince George local health area were fully vaccinated. Provincewide, 87.4 per cent of eligible people were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, the Ministry of Health reported.
While people who are not fully vaccinated only make up 12.6 per cent of British Columbians, they accounted for 58.4 per cent of new COVID-19 cases between Nov. 15 and Nov. 21. Those not fully vaccinated accounted for 69 per cent of those hospitalized with COVID-19 between Nov. 8 and Nov. 21, the B.C. Ministry of Health reported.
From Nov. 15 to Nov. 21, unvaccinated people were 7.7 times as likely to test positive for COVID-19 as fully-vaccinated people (188.8 cases per 100,000 unvaccinated people vs. 24.5 cases per 100,000 vaccinated people).
From Nov. 8 to Nov. 21, unvaccinated people were 18.8 times as likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 than fully-vaccinated people (32 cases per 100,000 unvaccinated people vs. 1.7 per 100,000 fully vaccinated people).
