Large number of staff affected by COVID-19 forces temporary closure of Cowichan Valley school
School’s principal says 'high number' of staff need to be isolated
The temporary closure of the Duncan Christian School is due to a COVID-19 cluster that is part of a wave of COVID-19 cases hitting Vancouver Island's Cowichan Valley.
The school offers classes for K-12, all of which have been suspended for two weeks.
In a statement posted to Facebook, school officials said that due to the large size of the school, the safest way to manage the COVID-19 exposure was to close the school starting Monday, with plans to reopen Feb. 1.
In an email to CBC, school principal Peter Terpstra wrote, "a high number of staff members are affected. This makes it difficult to function operationally."
Students will be shifting to off-campus learning during the closure. Students in grades 6 and higher will receive a mix of physical materials and Google classroom instruction. Younger children will be given materials to complete at home.
In its online statement, the school apologized for the hardship and disruption the school closure will cause parents, and asked parents who are front-line staff to contact its office for additional support.
Data released last week by the province shows that South Cowichan Valley is seeing more transmission than anywhere else on Vancouver Island.
Members of Cowichan Tribes, for example, are under a shelter-in-place order until Friday.
Michelle Staples, the mayor of Duncan, said it is a crucial time for people to follow public health orders.
"We all need to stay home. Each of us needs to do our part, and each of us has a responsibility to the people around us. Right now we need to be extra careful to protect everyone that's in our community. So we need to follow stay at home orders and … wear masks, keep apart," Staples said.
Listen to the interview with Michelle Staples, the mayor of Duncan:
With files from All Points West