Published Thursday, December 17, 2020 10:48AM EST Last Updated Thursday, December 17, 2020 6:13PM EST Ontario’s top public health officials says that he is “leery” about students returning to the classroom in January “in the midst of a maelstrom” when it comes to COVID-19 cases in the community. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams made the comment during a briefing on Thursday afternoon, one day after the Ministry of Education sent a memo to all school boards in the province asking them to be prepared to switch to remote learning if it is deemed necessary. “I think we can have schools opening safely, we have done it before. But I would just be leery to have them open up in the midst of a maelstrom of a rapid sweep up of cases in the community. They (schools) do reflect what is happening in the community.”
Article content
The directors of education for the two largest local school boards expect their schools to reopen after the Christmas break, despite the Education Ministry telling them to be prepared for remote learning.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce told school boards in a memo this week to ask staff and students to bring home essential learning materials when they leave for the holidays.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser. Students told to be ready for at-home learning after holidays Back to video
He said the request was made so that the province’s students and educators are ready for all scenarios.
Lecce said that the precaution will help the education system be ready for “all scenarios.”
“The public health environment in Ontario continues to evolve rapidly. The government is continuing to monitor the COVID-19 situation, including recent trends in hospitalizations and intensive care unit patients,” Lecce said.
“We encourage boards to continue to ensure that students and families are provided the resources required to successfully participate in remote learning.”
Ontario reported 170 new COVID-19 cases related to schools on Thursday, including at least 143 among students.
Those bring the number of schools with a reported case to 955 nearly 20 per cent out of Ontario’s 4,828 publicly funded schools.
TORONTO Health Minister Christine Elliot is acknowledging that her government is now “looking at all options” to curb the spread of COVID-19 including ones involving the public school system. Elliott made the comment to reporters during a news conference on Thursday morning, one day after the Ministry of Education sent a memo to all school boards in the province asking them to be prepared to switch to remote learning if it is deemed necessary. “It has always been important to us to keep our schools open because that is really important for students to learn and for their physical and mental health as well. Now we are seeing the numbers of cases rise tremendously and so we are looking at all options, including schools,” she said.