Ontario schools to reopen for in-person learning on Jan. 17
CTV
Ontario schools will reopen for in-person learning on Jan. 17, a spokesperson for the Ford government confirmed Monday.
Schools in the province were first set to return on Jan. 3, but the Ford government initially delayed the return to classrooms to Jan. 5, claiming the two extra days would give schools time to provide N95 masks to staff and to deploy 3,000 more HEPA filter units.
Last week, the government announced that it would instead have kids learn remotely until at least Jan. 17.
The decision to close schools was made amid surging COVID-19 cases fuelled by the Omicron variant, which has seen hospitals faced with higher than usual patient volumes and staff shortages.
“These two weeks will provide much-needed time for more vaccines and boosters,” Ford said at the time.