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Ontario’s Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, announced that all children in the province will return to classroom teaching by February 16.
The student in the Toronto, York and Peel regions will return to classes on February 16.
The remaining 13 public health units that have not yet resumed face-to-face learning will return on February 8.
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Brant County Health Unit
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Chatham-Kent Public Health
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Durham Region Health Department
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Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit
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Public Health in the Halton Region
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Hamilton City Public Health Services
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Huron Perth Public Health
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Lambton Public Health
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Public Health in the Niagara Region
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Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit
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Waterloo Region Public Health and Emergency Services
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Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health
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Windsor-Essex County Health Unit
“Security is what drove our decision at every step of the way,” said Lecce. “We will not put your child and family at risk.”
“If things change, if trends go in the wrong direction, we will not hesitate to act, following the advice of the medical director of health.”
This occurs after the provincial government announced new measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools, including asymptomatic tests for students and staff, mandatory masking for students from 1st to 3rd grade and external mask required for all grades when physical distance it cannot be maintained.
In addition, the province created a temporary certification for candidates for qualified teachers who were due to graduate in 2021 to increase the number of school staff.
While many were eagerly waiting for this provincial government announcement, some turned to social media with more questions and concerns about when to resume classroom learning in Ontario.
Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s medical director of health, emphasized that the province saw COVID-19 cases drop to 1,172 new cases on Wednesday, with less than 200 cases reported in Peel and less than 500 new cases reported in Toronto, which has not been the case since the beginning of December.
He added that people in the province have to “watch very carefully” to ensure that COVID-19 does not spread in schools, while Dr. Williams also said that the 2020 evidence shows that there was not much transmission at school.
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