Ontario schools will reopen for in-person learning on January 17, a government spokesman for Doug Ford confirmed to CP24 on Monday.
Schools in the province were due to return for the first time on January 3, but the government initially delayed the return to classrooms until January 5, claiming that the additional two days would give schools time to provide N95 masks to staff and deploy 3000 more. HEPA filter units.
Last week, the government announced that it would instead have children learn remotely until at least January 17.
The decision to close schools was made amid rising COVID-19 cases fueled by the Omicron variant, which has seen hospitals face higher-than-usual patient volumes and staff shortages.
“These two weeks will provide much-needed time for more vaccinations and boosters,” Ford said at the time.
“It is high time that additional public health measures were taken to mitigate the rapid increase in cases. I know that online learning is not ideal, but above all, I want to give students and parents certainty, not the confusion of school closings because there are not enough staff available to teach our children. “
On Monday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced that retired Ontario educators would be allowed to work more days this school year to address staff shortages.
“We need staff to continue to provide teacher-led live remote learning and to operate our schools safely when students return to in-person learning,” the Lecce statement reads.
“That is why we have now secured an agreement with the Ontario Federation of Teachers that will provide access to thousands of qualified teacher educators who will help keep schools open and safe.”
Later Monday, Ontario Mayors of Large Cities (OBCM) passed a motion saying they support calls from pediatric experts and parents to resume classes in person.
The motion was moved by Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson, seconded by Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, and passed unanimously.
On December 31, the Ontario government detailed in a memorandum that it would no longer collect data on COVID-19 cases from schools and daycare centers, citing new testing guidelines.
“Given the recent changes in the management of cases and contacts by the Ministry of Health and the OCMOH (Office of the Medical Director of Health), the ministry will suspend the notification of COVID-19 cases in schools,” reads the memorandum obtained by CP24.
While case counts will no longer be released, the ministry said it will continue to report school and daycare closures due to COVID-19.
According to the most recent provincial data, 46.7% of children aged five to 11 years have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 3.5% have received two doses and are considered to be fully vaccinated.
Just over 86 percent of children ages 12 to 17 have received one dose of a vaccine, while 82.6 percent have received two.
The province reported Monday that there are now at least 2,467 COVID-19 patients in Ontario hospitals, with 438 in intensive care.
With files from Bryann Aguilar of CP24 and The Canadian Press.
Reference-toronto.ctvnews.ca