A fourth school in the Lower Mainland region has been temporarily closed due to COVID-19.

Fraser Health announced on November 16 that it is working with Abbotsford Christian School, located at 35011 Old Clayburn Road, after six cases have been confirmed at the private middle school in the Fraser Valley.

The school informed Fraser Health that it will close for two weeks as a precautionary measure and due to staffing challenges posed by the exposure.

Fraser Health had listed the school as having an exposure event from November 4 to 6 and from November 9 to 10.

In a video posted on social media, executive director Julius Siebenga stated that COVID-19 has crossed several cohorts, and that middle school students will continue to be educated through remote learning while elementary and secondary students will return to classes on November 18.

This past weekend, three schools had been temporarily shut down due to clusters or outbreaks as of November 14, including:

• Cambridge Elementary School (6115 150th Street) in Surrey, after an outbreak involving seven cases;
• Jarvis Traditional Elementary School (7670 118 Street) in Delta, after a cluster of six cases;
• Al-Hidayah School (7 6th Street), an independent school in New Westminster, after a cluster of eight cases.

In B.C., a cluster in a school is defined as two or more cases being present at school while an outbreak in a school is declared when widespread transmission is occurring between groups of classes or learning groups and the chains of transmission remain undetermined.

Between November 13 and 16, regional health authorities listed 37 schools with new exposure events, or an incident involving a confirmed case present at a school.

In other recent local COVID-19 news, a community outbreak was declared after 42 cases were confirmed from the Platinum Athletic Club fitness centre in Surrey.