There were nearly 100 confirmed coronavirus cases at post-secondary institutions on Vancouver Island during the first four months of the 2021-2022 school year, new data shows.
According to Island Health data obtained by CHEK News via a Freedom of Information request, there were 89 confirmed COVID-19 cases at post‐secondary institutions on Vancouver Island between Aug. 2 and Nov. 30, 2021.
“These are individuals who attended a post-secondary institution while infectious. This does not mean transmission occurred in this setting,” reads a statement accompanying Island Health’s response.
Of the 89 cases recorded during the August to November period, 33 of them were at Vancouver Island University — 25 at the Nanaimo campus and eight at the Cowichan campus in Duncan — and 28 cases at the University of Victoria. Five cases were also recorded at Camosun College’s Interurban campus.
There were also 23 cases recorded at “other” post-secondary institutions. Island Health’s response notes that institutions that had less than five cases were not identified for privacy reasons.
There was “no in‐class transmission of COVID‐19” recorded at any post‐secondary institution on the Island between Sept. 6 and Nov. 30, 2021, according to Island Health.
CHEK’s FOI was submitted prior to the onset of the Omicron variant and before an outbreak of COVID-19 among numerous students at the University of Victoria became publicized.
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Island Health does not publicly disclose the number of cases linked to post-secondary institutions, rarely issuing notifications regarding COVID-19 exposures on school campuses, and B.C. public health officials have repeatedly stated that post-secondary institutions are low-risk settings for transmission.
Last year, the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association launched a petition demanding the Ministry of Health post COVID-19 exposure notifications that have occurred at a post-secondary campus on the regional health authorities’ websites.
However, B.C. forbids post-secondary institutions from issuing their own notifications either publicly or internally unless a regional health authority suggests otherwise — something it has done since at least the beginning of the Fall term and will continue doing.
“Please do not notify faculty, staff or students about potential or confirmed communicable disease cases (including COVID-19) unless requested to do so by the local Medical Health Officer,” reads a paragraph in the Ministry of Health’s Return to Campus Public Health Guidance, which was last updated on Dec. 22, 2021 and is available online.
Should a college or university choose to notify the public, the Ministry of Health, once again, suggests they stick to a communication narrative that includes saying “educational settings are low-risk settings” for transmission and that public health authorities are responsible for “determining notification processes and requirements” for confirmed cases of COVID-19.
In a statement to CHEK News last month related to exposure notifications at post-secondary institutions, the Ministry of Health said staff are working hard to ensure colleges and universities are safe places.
“Staff at health authorities and post-secondary institutions are working hard to ensure that colleges and universities are safe for students, faculty and staff, and that people are provided with the information they need if they are at risk of exposure.”
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Nicholas Pescod
