3 Metro Vancouver schools close amid coronavirus concerns

Two Catholic schools in East Vancouver and a Surrey elementary school have closed three days before Spring Break because of the new coronavirus outbreak.

In a message sent to parents of St. Francis of Assisi School, officials say the school will be closed this week after a parent tested positive for COVID-19.

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St. Francis officials closed the school out of an abundance of caution, saying Vancouver Coastal Health told them the “school community was at low risk.”

St. Francis is a feeder school to Notre Dame Regional Secondary School, which announced it was closed Wednesday for “precautionary health reasons,” according to a message on the school’s Facebook page.

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Both schools expect to re-open when Spring Break ends March 30.

Surrey’s Coast Meridian Elementary says it is closed Wednesday after learning a member of the school community has tested positive for COVID-19. The school says it has not been able to confirm the case with health authorities. Surrey School District Superintendent Jordan Tinney said the school will undergo a deep cleaning.

The closures come a day after Glenylyon Norfolk School on Vancouver Island closed both of its campuses on Tuesday.

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B.C. officials announced seven new cases of the novel coronavirus Tuesday, bringing the provincial total to 39. Two of the new cases are believed to be incidents of community transmission.

–With files from Simon Little and Richard Zussman