Two B.C. schools make closure decision: ministry

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

The Education Ministry says schools in Hazelton and Surrey recently made the decision.

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."

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.