Hamilton schools waiting on N95 masks, HEPA filters as sources say in-person learning to resume
CBC
Hamilton school boards are waiting on more N95 masks and HEPA filters, as sources tell CBC News in-person learning is expected to resume on Jan. 17.
News of the return date was first reported by the Toronto Star Monday evening.
CBC Hamilton has reached out to local public school boards for comment.
Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board chair Pat Daly said Monday evening he was waiting to hear from the Ministry of Education and said if the announcement is made, it would be good news.
Earlier Monday, Daly said the school board has received 140,000 N95 masks for education workers, but is still waiting on another 60,000.
He said he doesn't know when they'll arrive. The school board hasn't received any additional HEPA filters since learning went online on Jan. 5, he said.
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board spokesperson Shawn McKillop said the public school board received 182,000 N95 masks on Monday and isn't expecting any more. The masks are optional for staff and are not fit tested.
He said the board is expecting 57 extra HEPA filters from the province, but hasn't received them yet.
Last week, the chair of HWDSB penned a letter to Ontario's Ministry of Education making several requests "to help ensure that schools can reopen for safe in-person leaning as soon as possible." Those requests included priority access to vaccinations for front-line education workers and students, as well as funding or provisioning high-quality masks for students.
Education and child-care workers now have access to an appointment-only vaccine clinic in Hamilton, the city's medical officer of health said Monday afternoon.
Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said the clinic at 1241 Barton St. E. is open every day from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
People who use it have to book appointments through the province, since Ontario runs the clinic, she said.
Children aged five to 11-years-old also have walk-in access to the Centre on Barton and Lime Ridge Mall vaccine clinics for first and second doses. Both clinics are open daily from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
About 41.1 per cent of those kids have one dose of vaccine, which falls short of the provincial average, 46.7 per cent.
A growing number of Manitoba's MRI machines now use artificial intelligence, with a plan to have more than half using the technology by spring.
A mobile unit the Saskatchewan government bought in 2002 for providing mammograms to Saskatchewan women will soon retire.
The Prince Edward Island government is rolling out the province’s first-ever policing standards, which officials say will make police services more consistent, transparent and better supported.
Residents in Niagara Falls, Ont., continue to wait for news on the future of Marineland’s property and dozens of animals, including up to 30 belugas and four dolphins — nearly two months after the federal government turned down the theme park's request to export the mammals.
Canadian travellers hoping for a new year without having to worry about a labour dispute may be out of luck, as 2026 will see most major airlines from this country facing off with unions across the bargaining table.
Food prices are soaring. Food prices keep climbing. Food prices are defying cooling inflation.
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
Ontario legislation that mandated air conditioning in all resident rooms in long-term care (LTC) homes has saved dozens of lives, according to a new study.
Gusty winds, rapid fall in temperature prompt special weather statement for Waterloo region and area
The mid-week warmup in Waterloo region, Guelph and area will abruptly come to an end on Friday, Environment and Climate Change Canada warns.
Water in two more schools in the N.W.T. show lead levels above Health Canada's guidelines for drinking water, according to the territorial government.
Ontario's ethics watchdog says it will investigate whether the province's labour minister contravened any laws in his handling of a controversial training fund.
Mitchell Rose, the 32-year-old man charged with three counts of attempted murder in St. John’s, will spend the next month on the forensic unit of a psychiatric hospital.
Nearly eight years after Halifax sold the historic Khyber building in the hopes it could be revived, the municipality says the site has become a “threat to safety” — and is taking it back.