Schools across Ontario have been closed since the holidays because the province couldn’t guarantee enough staff. However, a spokesperson for Premier Doug Ford has confirmed that schools will reopen for in-person learning next Monday. In an email, Ford’s director of media relations Ivana Yelich said “as planned and previously announced, students will return to in-person learning on Monday, January 17,”
The news was first reported by the Toronto Star on Monday night. Last week, due to the surge of COVID-19 cases, the Ontario government transitioned all publicly funded and private schools to remote learning. Official say it was due to a predicted staffing shortage as many teachers got sick.
Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said the extended break will give schools extra time to get N95 masks. The Toronto District School Board which serves over 240,000 students said they shipped roughly 600,000 N95 masks to staff. A TDSB spokesperson, Ryan Bird, said the school board will also be receiving 300 more HEPA filters.
For more information about the source click HERE