‘Functional closure’ of two Abbotsford schools due to COVID-19
Posted January 18, 2022 8:51 pm.
Last Updated January 18, 2022 8:52 pm.
Nearly 3,000 high school students in Abbotsford will be staying home until next Monday, after two schools halted in-person classes due to COVID-19.
On Tuesday, the district announced the “functional closures” of W.J. Mouat Secondary, which has about 1,500 students, and Yale Secondary, which has about 1,250.
Functional closures happen “when a school cannot adequately supervise or instruct children,” the Ministry of Education explains. This is possible when there are snow days, power outages, and even illness. However, the province has warned teachers, families, and students that more of these closures were likely due to COVID-19-related staff absences
The decision to implement a functional closure is made by schools or districts, not the province.
The province has said COVID-19 exposure notices will no longer be sent unless there are significant dips in attendance, noting the rapid rate of transmission of the Omicron variant has made the process unreliable.
With files from Mike Lloyd
