A: A confirmed case is a person with laboratory confirmation of infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 performed at a community, hospital or reference laboratory.

A: Contact tracing is a process led by local health authorities to identify people who have been in close contact with a confirmed case.

Contact tracing helps people get diagnosed earlier and reduces the chance of spreading COVID-19.

Only contacts who may have been exposed to respiratory droplets from the confirmed case (through coughing, sneezing or speaking) need to be identified.

More information on contact tracing is provided below (see Contact Tracing section)

A: A school cluster is when there are multiple confirmed and linked cases of COVID-19 among students and/or staff within a 14-day period. The determination of clusters can only be made by medical health officers.

A: Self-isolation means staying home and avoiding situations where one could come in contact with others. Self-isolation is required for those:

• confirmed as a case of COVID-19,
• who are identified as a close contact of a confirmed case of COVID-19, and
• who have travelled outside Canada in the last 14 days.

A: Quarantine is a term typically reserved for people who return from travel outside the country, who are at risk of developing COVID-19.

A: Medical health officers are physicians who work within health authorities and have authority and responsibilities outlined in the PUBLIC HEALTH ACT.These include directing the public health response to local public threats, like COVID-19.

A: School medical officers are medical health officers who have additional authority and responsibilities outlined in the SCHOOL ACT.They are responsible for directing the local public health response to any public health threat that affects schools, like COVID-19 and other communicable diseases.

Every school has a school medical offer assigned to it. For the North Vancouver School District, we work with MEDICAL HEALTH OFFICERS AT VANCOUVER COASTAL HEALTH

A: If a student or staff member develops symptoms at school, schools will:

• Provide the student/staff with a non-medical mask if they don’t have one (exceptions should be made for students/staff who cannot wear masks for medical and/or disability-related reasons).
• Provide the student/staff with a space where they can wait comfortably that is separated from others.
• Younger children should be supervised when separated.
• Make arrangements for the student/staff to go home as soon as possible.
• Contact the student’s parent/caregiver with a request to have their child picked up as soon as possible.
• Custodial staff will clean and disinfect the areas the student/staff used.
• Request that the student/staff be assessed by a healthcare provider and stay home until COVID-19 has been excluded and symptoms have improved.

A: If a student, staff or other individual who has been in a school is a confirmed case of COVID-19 through testing or investigation (i.e. case finding), the local health authority (Vancouver Coastal Health) will initiate contact tracing to determine how they were infected and who else may have been at risk of infection.

If there was a potential exposure at a school (i.e. the confirmed case attended school when they may have been potentially infectious), the health authority will work with the school administrator to understand who may have been exposed, and to determine what actions should be taken, including identifying if other students or staff are sick (case finding) or have been exposed and should monitor for symptoms or self-isolate.

If there was no potential exposure at the school (i.e. the confirmed case did not attend school when they may have been potentially infectious), the health authority will not notify the school administrator.

A: Students and staff are only required to self-isolate if directed to do so by health authority staff – this includes members of the learning group/cohort of the confirmed case. Only health authorities can determine who is a close contact.

School administrators will ensure necessary plans are in place to support continuity of learning for students who are required to self-isolate.

School districts will have contingency plans in place to arrange coverage for staff who are required to self-isolate.

Depending on the circumstances (e.g. type of interactions, when and how long they were exposed, ability of a confirmed case to fully self-isolate from others in their household, etc.), public health may determine that someone who was in contact with a confirmed case while they were infectious is at low risk of developing COVID-19. In this situation, the person may be asked to self-monitor for symptoms but will not be required to self-isolate. Individuals asked to self-monitor for symptoms may continue to attend school.

A: Other people who are not identified as close contacts of a confirmed case, but who may have interacted with the confirmed case while they were infectious, may be advised by health authority staff to self-monitor for symptoms but can still attend school.

School medical officers may require additional measures to be taken, which may include:

• Requesting students and staff to stay home until contact tracing has been completed.
• Self-isolation of a learning group/cohort.
• Additional cleaning/disinfecting requirements.
• Temporary restrictions or modifications of certain school activities.

A: School medical officers will play the lead role in determining if, when and how to communicate out information regarding a confirmed case to the school community.

To protect personal privacy rights, health authorities will not disclose that a student or staff member is a confirmed case of COVID-19 unless there is reason to believe they may have been infectious when they attended school. In this case, the health authority will provide only the information required to support effective contact tracing and only to the school administrator or delegate.

Health authority staff will notify everyone who they determine may have been exposed, including if any follow-up actions are recommended (e.g. self-isolate, monitor for symptoms, etc.). School medical officers will also work with the school administrator to determine if additional notifications are warranted (e.g. notification to the broader school community).

A: It's an important tool to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

It involves getting in touch with people who have tested positive for COVID-19, identifying close contacts, and helping people who have been exposed to prevent onward transmission.

A: If you test positive for COVID-19, public health will call you, give you isolation instructions and ask questions to learn about your household and workplace.

You'll also be asked questions about who you've been in contact with during the two weeks before you got sick and since you've been sick. These people are called contacts.

Next, public health gets in touch with close contacts.

A: Someone who may have been infected through respiratory droplets (i.e. sneezing/coughing/talking)

Not every contact needs to be identified. Only those who have been exposed to respiratory droplets are considered close contacts

A: Close contacts will be asked about potential COVID-19 symptoms.

If not symptoms, they will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days since their last contact with the person who tested positive.

They will also be asked to monitor for symptoms. Contacts with symptoms are sent for testings. If a contact tests positive, the whole process is repeated to identify their contacts.

A: This is entirely your choice, but VCH asks that you do not conduct your own contact tracing.

Public health will work closely with employers and schools to walk them through next steps. VCH will issue a public exposure notice only if necessary.

A: Please be honest about who you have seen. This is for your contacts' safety.

Keep your bubble small. This makes contact tracing easier in case you are contacted or test positive for COVID-19.

You can also help the contact tracing process by:

• Staying home if you are sick
• Keep 2 metres away from people outside your bubble
• Wash your hands well and frequently
• Practice good cough and sneeze etiquette