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.

害羞草研究所淚 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,害羞草研究所� said Marliss, who estimates she spends 12 hours a day on the website and Facebook page. 害羞草研究所淲e don害羞草研究所檛 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害羞草研究所檛 have that support, nobody could be able to handle this (alone).害羞草研究所�

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

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 not so cut and dry as to say 害羞草研究所榟ere害羞草研究所檚 a letter, get it posted.害羞草研究所� There害羞草研究所檚 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.害羞草研究所�

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.

害羞草研究所淧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害羞草研究所� so even they want to share with the community,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淎 lot of administrators are expressing frustration about that wall that has been built, that they can害羞草研究所檛 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.害羞草研究所�

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.

害羞草研究所淣o, they sadly don害羞草研究所檛 (surprise us),害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淲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害羞草研究所檛 get COVID, that kids don害羞草研究所檛 transmit COVID - we saw it happening in the last school year. We knew that wasn害羞草研究所檛 going to change this year.

害羞草研究所淣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害羞草研究所檚 what happened.害羞草研究所�

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

害羞草研究所淲e have over 60,000 people who are following our page, and that害羞草研究所檚 a clear indication of what people want and need,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淭hey need information, and if they (government) are not going to provide it害羞草研究所� if they aren害羞草研究所檛 going to put families first, that害羞草研究所檚 what I find so frustrating. They (government) know my information is valid, and they know it害羞草研究所檚 all there, but they will try to (discredit us).

害羞草研究所淏onnie Henry has said in her pressers害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所榶ou need to leave this to an authoritative source害羞草研究所� but I think we have proven that we are pretty authoritative. We stand by our information. They can discredit all they want - they don害羞草研究所檛 want the info out there, but that害羞草研究所檚 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.害羞草研究所�

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.

害羞草研究所淏.C. and all regional health authorities provide regular information on exposures in schools, both publicly and through direct communication to the school community,害羞草研究所� 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 害羞草研究所渋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.害羞草研究所�

terry.farrell@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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