With nearly 60,000 followers on their , Richmond mom Kathy Marliss and Vancouver Island counterpart Andrea Rosszman know their service is appreciated.

The two women have been running the BC School COVID Tracker website and Facebook page for nearly 18 months, and their sites have become the go-to source for B.C. residents who want the latest information on exposure events throughout the province.

B次元官网网址淚 am doing this because I feel that knowledge is power and to be able to make informed decisions to keep your family safe is of the utmost importance,B次元官网网址� said Marliss, who estimates she spends 12 hours a day on the website and Facebook page. B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 get that information readily, or at all, from our government officials, so we are flying blind without the data and the communications we are getting. I am so grateful to Andrea, who helps me so much with this. If I didnB次元官网网址檛 have that support, nobody could be able to handle this (alone).B次元官网网址�

Marliss said there is a lot that goes into every data entry before it gets posted.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not so cut and dry as to say B次元官网网址榟ereB次元官网网址檚 a letter, get it posted.B次元官网网址� ThereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of questions and conversations back and forth that need to happen to make sure that we get the information validated appropriately and get all the information we possibly can.B次元官网网址�

Marliss said while she checks the site daily, the majority of her information is coming directly from the parents, teachers and support staff who receive letters from their respective health authorities about exposures.

B次元官网网址淧eople come to us. It has been very easy to create that trust piece - I even have school administrators writing us and giving us informationB次元官网网址� so even they want to share with the community,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淎 lot of administrators are expressing frustration about that wall that has been built, that they canB次元官网网址檛 protect their own community. But the information we share has all been validated. We do not share any anecdotal cases. We do get some third-party information, but we say to those sources that we must hear directly from the families, with documented proof. All the entries on the database come from people who either have a letter from the school or public health, or they have tested positive themselves, and they share those positive test results with us, as well as the communication they have had with public health regarding what their exposure dates would have been. So all that information has been proven. It is not hearsay.B次元官网网址�

The has posted 12,241 exposure announcements dating back to Sept. 1, 2020, and more than one-third of those - nearly 4,700 - have been in the past four months.

Marliss said while those numbers are staggering, they are not surprising.

B次元官网网址淣o, they sadly donB次元官网网址檛 (surprise us),B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲e knew going in that kids not being eligible for the vaccine until very recently was going to cause a spike in schools. We knew transmission in schools was happening, despite the government using a very different narrative, that kids donB次元官网网址檛 get COVID, that kids donB次元官网网址檛 transmit COVID - we saw it happening in the last school year. We knew that wasnB次元官网网址檛 going to change this year.

B次元官网网址淣ow that the teachers were fully protected, with their two doses, we knew we were going to hear mostly about kids being sick, rather than adults being sick, and thatB次元官网网址檚 what happened.B次元官网网址�

Marliss said she has had pushback from government authorities, but is determined to continue to provide the information to the community at large.

B次元官网网址淲e have over 60,000 people who are following our page, and thatB次元官网网址檚 a clear indication of what people want and need,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hey need information, and if they (government) are not going to provide itB次元官网网址� if they arenB次元官网网址檛 going to put families first, thatB次元官网网址檚 what I find so frustrating. They (government) know my information is valid, and they know itB次元官网网址檚 all there, but they will try to (discredit us).

B次元官网网址淏onnie Henry has said in her pressersB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址榶ou need to leave this to an authoritative sourceB次元官网网址� but I think we have proven that we are pretty authoritative. We stand by our information. They can discredit all they want - they donB次元官网网址檛 want the info out there, but thatB次元官网网址檚 just too bad because families, British Columbians, people in the school system, we are strong, we support each other, we are keeping each other safe, and we just wish the people in the higher up positions would care as much as we do.B次元官网网址�

When contacted by Black Press on Dec. 27, the Ministry of Health would not discuss the BC School COVID Tracker website in particular, but encouraged people to access the government websites.

A spokesperson for the ministry claimed the government is providing all the necessary information.

B次元官网网址淏.C. and all regional health authorities provide regular information on exposures in schools, both publicly and through direct communication to the school community,B次元官网网址� the ministry responded.

The ministry also stated the provincial health officer provided instructions to all regional health authorities to post potential exposure events on their websites B次元官网网址渋f a person (staff or student) attended school while infectious, and there is increased risk of COVID-19 to the groups they were a part of.B次元官网网址�

terry.farrell@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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