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.
含羞草研究社淚 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,含羞草研究社� said Marliss, who estimates she spends 12 hours a day on the website and Facebook page. 含羞草研究社淲e don含羞草研究社檛 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 didn含羞草研究社檛 have that support, nobody could be able to handle this (alone).含羞草研究社�
Marliss said there is a lot that goes into every data entry before it gets posted.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 not so cut and dry as to say 含羞草研究社榟ere含羞草研究社檚 a letter, get it posted.含羞草研究社� There含羞草研究社檚 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.含羞草研究社�
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.
含羞草研究社淧eople come to us. It has been very easy to create that trust piece - I even have school administrators writing us and giving us information含羞草研究社� so even they want to share with the community,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淎 lot of administrators are expressing frustration about that wall that has been built, that they can含羞草研究社檛 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.含羞草研究社�
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.
含羞草研究社淣o, they sadly don含羞草研究社檛 (surprise us),含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淲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 don含羞草研究社檛 get COVID, that kids don含羞草研究社檛 transmit COVID - we saw it happening in the last school year. We knew that wasn含羞草研究社檛 going to change this year.
含羞草研究社淣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 that含羞草研究社檚 what happened.含羞草研究社�
Marliss said she has had pushback from government authorities, but is determined to continue to provide the information to the community at large.
含羞草研究社淲e have over 60,000 people who are following our page, and that含羞草研究社檚 a clear indication of what people want and need,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淭hey need information, and if they (government) are not going to provide it含羞草研究社� if they aren含羞草研究社檛 going to put families first, that含羞草研究社檚 what I find so frustrating. They (government) know my information is valid, and they know it含羞草研究社檚 all there, but they will try to (discredit us).
含羞草研究社淏onnie Henry has said in her pressers含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社榶ou need to leave this to an authoritative source含羞草研究社� but I think we have proven that we are pretty authoritative. We stand by our information. They can discredit all they want - they don含羞草研究社檛 want the info out there, but that含羞草研究社檚 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.含羞草研究社�
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.
含羞草研究社淏.C. and all regional health authorities provide regular information on exposures in schools, both publicly and through direct communication to the school community,含羞草研究社� 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 含羞草研究社渋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.含羞草研究社�
terry.farrell@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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