A School District In BC Said That COVID-19 Contact Tracing Is 'Not Sustainable' Anymore

Parents in a B.C. school district were told that COVID-19 contact tracing is "not sustainable" in schools anymore, with the Omicron variant.

Schools in B.C. are reopening on Monday, January 10, after a delayed start due to the spread of the variant.

The Vernon School District told parents in a statement that was posted to their website that schools in the area will not be contact tracing or providing exposure notifications for COVID-19 now.

In the statement, the school district wished everyone a happy New Year, and said that they hope parents "are ready to face the new challenges that are in front of us – in particular, the new COVID 19 variant, Omicron."

The statement had a question and answer section, to keep the parents up to date on the different measures being taken.

One question was: "Will there still be contact tracing and notifications if there are exposures?"

The answer was no.

"This is not sustainable. The situation is no longer the same. Many more people will get the new variant. The good news is that most people are now protected from serious illness through vaccination," the statement added.

The statement also said that extracurricular sports tournaments are not continuing, daily health checks are continuing, and children must wear a mask.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Dr. Bonnie Henry said that keeping schools open is a high priority, and that they are "are not a major source of transmission."

She also said that schools were tasked to create plans for how they will continue to operate in the upcoming months "with the potential for reduced staff and keeping children safely in school."

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.