Two schools in Abbotsford closed until Monday due to "operational limitations" related to the spread of COVID-19

Two more schools have been added to the handful of elementary and secondary schools affected by functional closures linked to the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The Abbotsford School District says in a social media message that WJ Mouat Secondary and Yale Secondary will be closed until Monday due to ``operational limitations'' related to the spread of the virus.

Lack of staff forced closure of Mission's Heritage Park Middle School on Friday but it's expected to reopen tomorrow; Armstrong Elementary was shuttered last week and planned to open yesterday but will now stay closed until at least Friday, while students are back at Chase Secondary in the Shuswap region after a one-day shut down yesterday.

Functional closures are declared when there aren't enough staff available for in-person learning and student supervision, but officials say only a handful of BC's roughly 16-hundred schools have been forced to use the measure, despite the surge of COVID-19 cases.