The COVID-19 pandemic impacted, and continues to impact students, staff and families in many ways, with some longer-term impacts of the pandemic yet to be realized. As we enter the 2022-23 school year, school boards, independent school authorities and schools will continue to build on their experiences and the advice of public health experts to determine communicable disease prevention plans. Our shared experience highlights the need to continue to be flexible and responsive to changes in transmission trends, as well as provides the opportunity to incorporate our learnings into approaches for sustainable communicable disease prevention moving forward.

COVID-19 will continue to circulate in our population, and as long as cases occur within our communities, K-12 students and staff members will continue to be affected. However, BCCDC notes that transmission within K-12 school settings accounts for a minority of COVID-19 cases, even amongst students and staff. Moreover, with high immunization rates in BC and treatment options for people at higher risk of serious disease, public health advises that COVID-19 can be managed as are other serious respiratory infections in the community. As such, the guidance in this document supports reducing the risk of transmission of communicable diseases, including COVID-19 and will be modified as needed. BCCDC is the primary source of information about COVID-19 in BC.

We continue to ask that staff, other adults entering the school, parents, caregivers, and students not to come to school if they are sick. We request that everyone do a health assessment prior to leaving for school.