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1 Jul, 29 tweets, 23 min read
BC authorities are trying to rewrite history by claiming that BC schools were magically safe during the #COVID19 pandemic year.

There are a lot of holes in their claims.

Here to set the record straight-a thread for #bced, class of 20-21.
@JM_Whiteside @jjhorgan @DrBonnieHenry
July 29, 2020. @bcndp @DrBonnieHenry reveal the 5-stage reopening plan for #bced. Surprise! Stage 2 has been revamped to include a FULL return to classes; no 50% capacity for G.8-12 as previously planned. Cohort model, no masks, limited online options. @bctf not consulted.
There are immediate concerns with the #bced plan for the 20/21 school year. Twitter explodes with teachers, staff & parents noting several issues with it. Many concerns are summarized in this article here:
And even in the summer of 2020, studies involving children showing spread of #COVID19, were emerging, adding to the debate. This one came out shortly after the #bced 5-stage plan was released.
Suggestions were sent to the Ministry of Ed to fix #bced's plan. Many people sent this article below that included options for immunocompromised students & staff, allowed for distancing while using existing buildings, and had other safer measures.

Nope.
End of Aug, 2020. Districts submit plans to Min of Ed, under the impression that Stage 2=100% attendance at least part of the day. Only Vancouver gets a 50% plan approved, for Gr. 8-12; too late for other districts to switch. Fed $ helps with some remote options, but not enough.
As concerns continue, @DrBonnieHenry and @bcndp host an ad, with some obvious ironies - a much smaller class size and desks farther apart than what would be possible under Stage 2. Looks like actors have more rights than #bced kids.
Early Oct, 2020. @bcndp has called an early election. Cases start to rise. @drbonniehenry is facing questions about #bced, but rarely gives concrete answers.
Research & studies on kids and schools result in epidemiologists calling for safer measures.
Early Nov, 2020. @drbonniehenry @adriandix impose new restrictions for @fraserhealth & @VCHhealthcare due to rising cases. No extra safety measures for schools though.

Concerns over this are explained in this @CBCEarlyEdition interview w @CBCStephenQuinn:
By Dec., 2020, it's clear there are multiple issues with how @CDCofBC @drbonniehenry @adriandix are still handling #bced. The *red flags* are summarized in this thread ⬇️ (and there are many...)
Dec 2020 - it's also clear that @CDCofBC has no intention of publishing thorough school data, the way many other provinces do. For example, see Quebec's data in the tweet below. BC has NEVER published data like this, for the entire 20-21 #bced school year.
Jan. 2021 Variants have arrived in BC. School is starting after Winter Break. Canadian epidemiologists @AshTuite and @FurnessColin comment on BC's plan to restart school without a mask mandate or thorough testing in an interview with @TheCurrentCBC.
Jan. 2021. Issues with contact tracing in #bced are revealed in the results of an informal poll of school staff, summarized below in this thread.
Conclusion: Contact tracing of many BC school cases is closer to cursory than thorough.
Early Feb. 2021. The first variant cases are detected in BC schools. The circular "answers" that @drbonniehenry routinely gives to reporters' questions are a good example of many pressers. See thread for examples, as 3 #bced questions were asked:
Early March 2021. @drbonniehenry's book is about to hit the shelves. Some media are starting to turn away from #bced concerns. That's a major problem, as evidence from around the world shows that BC's "success" is built on ignoring science & obfuscation:
March 2021. #bced still doesn't have a full mask mandate in schools. Most other provinces do. The year is 2/3 over already. Variants are detected in BC schools & school notices are accelerating. Interview with @steeletalk @CKNW regarding masks in schools:
March 2021. @bctf AGM passes a motion to get better safety measures in schools. Looking at the list of requests show just how far behind #bced is.
March 31, 2021. #bced gets a full indoor mask mandate for Gr. 4-12 when @JM_Whiteside puts it into the Min. of Ed. plan! However, Dr. Reka Gustafson tries to undermine the mandate just days afterwards, in discussions about implementing it with trustees.
April 16, 2021. Dr. Reka Gustafson comes up with this zinger ⬇️, prompting a thread to show all the evidence she's deliberately avoiding when making statements like that.

This is our Deputy Pub Health Officer in charge of #bced's pandemic plan?? @CDCofBC
April 23, 2021. Let's not forget about @bcndp's #bced budget. Fact is, next year's budget from our gov't is so miserly that every single district is cutting services next school year. The unspoken truth behind @JM_Whiteside's interview, explained in 🧵⬇️
May 1, 2021. It turns out that the 5-stage #bced plan, revealed on July 29, was never actually enacted, despite ex-Min @rob_fleming insisting at the time that districts be ready to change stages, if cases in the area were to rise.

It was all a @bcndp lie.
May 7, 2021. A @CDCofBC data leak proves that they were collecting neighbourhood data all along. Including data that showed parts of the province (like Surrey) had over 20% positivity rate but had lower 💉 rates. The resulting emergency press conference:
May 10, 2021. Another jaw-dropper: @drbonniehenry says that @CDCofBC hasn't been collecting much #bced data (!!)

So which is it: "We know there's low transmission in schools" or "We didn't collect the data to know"?
May 12, 2021. Major twist! A @Fraserhealth leak shows that detailed school data WAS collected, for a few months (before P1 takeoff though) in early 2021. It shows in-school transmission, although incomplete w/o asymptomatic testing.
June 1, 2021. Plotting of exposure notices by location (courtesy of @vb_jens) reveals Surrey schools' massive #COVID19📈for most of the yr. One wonders why those schools were not allowed to switch stages. Political reasons?
(Note:🧵continues in replies⬇️)
June 9, 2021. @DFisman, Canadian epidemiologist, sums up BC's pandemic response problem best in this interview:
June 22, 2021. UBC researchers release a schools study, based in Vancouver, claiming that school staff are at no more risk than the community. However, there are some glaring issues with it, the below being one of them:
June 25, 2021. A rep from austinair.ca reports that, back in Sept, a #bced district bought 2 medical-grade HEPA filters for each classrm but wished to remain anonymous. Why the secrecy? Could the slap-down of those who tried 😷mandates be why?
June 29, 2021. Last day for students.

We can't allow @bcndp @DrBonnieHenry to rewrite #bced's history & say that this 20-21 year was a model example of safe schools. Lack of safety measures, esp in schools w/📈, led to unnecessary cases. Families & staff deserved better.

END

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More from @jheighton3

Jennifer Heighton Profile picture
10 May
What if @bcndp @CDCofBC are approaching this pandemic all wrong?

Drs Henry & Gustafson say fear of “stigma” is the reason for not releasing data.

Boom. There it is. The underlying driving force behind many #Covid19BC decisions.

But does it have to be this way?

A thread:
1/
Attaching stigma to an illness is a social construct. That means we have control over whether we do that or not.

There are many illnesses, even communicable ones, that have no stigma attached. Flu, colds, chicken pox, measles.

No one is “at fault” for catching/spreading.
2/
We also have illnesses where stigma *has* been attached. The HIV virus comes to mind. And that stigma proved to be damaging in so many ways. It’s taken many years of activism to reduce the stigma there.

How is it that public health has not learned from that experience?
3/
Read 13 tweets
Jennifer Heighton Profile picture
7 Mar
BC media, please understand why #bced feels abandoned by DBH’s “Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe” slogan.

If DBH was KIND to school communities by listening to concerns & working to make schools SAFER, we would be CALM. But she has ignored evidence and gaslit us instead.

A thread:
First: DBH claims that “in-school transmission is low” and that school cases “reflect the community”.

Yet several studies have proven otherwise.
Study 1) Montreal study, explained by 🇨🇦 epidemiologist:
Study 2) Belgian study shows much higher prevalence in young children, once they started testing schools more (catching previously-missed asymptomatic cases).
New Z epidemiologist reports:
Read 24 tweets
Jennifer Heighton Profile picture
5 Dec 20
Why are people questioning BC’s Covid response? If we look at BC’s situation with a calm, critical thinking lens, this is what a lot of people are seeing with our provincial response: (THREAD)

#RedFlagCovidBC
#bced #bcpoli
@CDCofBC @bcndp @adriandix
@JM_Whiteside

1/17
First #RedFlagCovidBC : BC doesn't acknowledge a- or pre-symptomatic spread of this virus, which scientists have documented in droves. Instead, BC tells contacts to “self-monitor” themselves for symptoms but keep going to school or work if they are symptom-free. #bced
2/17
Second #RedFlagCovidBC: Experts agree that community spread should be low (measured by test +ivity rates) for schools to operate safely. Yet BC (esp @Fraserhealth) has had consistently high positivity rates in the last several weeks. No change to the #bced plan, even in FH.
3/17
Read 17 tweets

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