Two B.C. schools close due to staff ‘illness,’ ministry says

Two schools have stopped in-person classes in B.C., less than two days after most students returned to classrooms following an extended holiday break due to the surging COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Ginger Fuller, secretary-treasurer of the Coast Mountain School District, says officials will meet Wednesday to decide when to reopen Hazelton Secondary School to regular classes after it was closed because of a staff shortage, which was the result of “illness.”

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The ministry said the independent Bibleway Christian Academy in Surrey has also suspended in-person classes.

No one from the school was immediately available to comment.

Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside says local school administration officials, including principals, make decisions about closing in-person classes and moving to temporary online teaching.