B.C. measles outbreak: 33 students, staff asked to stay home from schools

VANCOUVER – Some 33 students and staff at two French-language schools at the centre of a measles outbreak in Vancouver have been ordered to stay home because they haven’t provided proof of vaccination.

Vancouver Coastal Health says there have been eight confirmed cases of measles at Ecole Secondaire Jules-Verne and Ecole Rose-des-Vents.

Spokeswoman Tiffany Akins says both schools had documented measles vaccination rates that were around 70 per cent before the outbreak.

She says the health authority’s staff were able to confirm the vaccination records of more students in light of the outbreak, bringing the rate up to around 95 per cent.

But she says the 33 students and staff who have been sent home have either been unable to provide this documentation or are still refusing to vaccinate.

Akins adds that the individuals will be allowed to return to the schools if there are no new cases of measles at the institutions by March 7.