Mission’s Windebank Elementary School closed due to COVID-19 staffing shortages

MISSION (NEWS 1130) — While an outbreak hasn’t been declared, an elementary school in Mission will be closing to in-person instruction temporarily because of COVID-19.

The current lack of staff at Windebank Elementary School has forced classes to switch to online learning until Oct. 21.

“While there is no health or safety concern at this time, I have determined that operationally we will need to close the school for the next week due to staff shortages in the building. These shortages impact the learning and safety of students in the building,” reads a letter to parents from the Angus Wilson, the superintendent of schools for Mission.

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He adds the elementary school has had a number of COVID-19 exposures since September and knows this is difficult for families.

“I know this will cause considerable challenges for some families and is not a desirable situation for any of us. I apologize for any difficulties this unexpected event places on families. But again, for the safety of staff and students, this is the best course of action for us to take at this time,” Wilson wrote Thursday.

According to the new Exposure Watch website, which posts COVID-19 exposures in B.C. schools, the Mission school has seen half a dozen unconfirmed exposures in recent weeks.

However, Fraser Health has not declared an outbreak at the school.

Remote classes will start Monday, giving teachers a few days to prepare for the alternative format.

COVID-19 in the classroom

Since school began, B.C. has seen a concerning rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in school-aged children.

B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, says the cases are higher in areas with low vaccination rates.

Mission is among the highest areas for daily COVID-19 case rates in the province, and the second highest outside of the Northern and Interior Health regions.

Only 72 per cent of Mission residents are fully immunized. To compare, 85 per cent of Surrey’s residents have gotten both COVID-19 shots.

Increased regional measures remain in place for Mission, as well as several other communities in the Fraser East area, since they were put in place Sept. 28.

Chilliwack remains high in new cases, and lower than the provincial average for immunizations.

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Henry urged everyone to get immunized in order to protect young children who currently are not eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

However, the province is hoping the vaccines for children 5-11 years old will be approved by Health Canada in the coming weeks.

Vaccines are currently under review, but parents in B.C. can pre-register their children to get the shot. They will be notified of eligibility to book an appointment once the vaccines are approved for use.

As of Oct. 2, single-dose coverage in 12-19 year-olds was 82 per cent and 70 per cent were fully vaccinated.

With files from Monika Gul