Ontario tightens capacity rules, delays school restart as Omicron spreads
BNN Bloomberg
Ontario's top doctor is set to make an announcement today as the province continues to reach new records in daily COVID-19 infections.
Ontario will push back the return to school to next Wednesday, a senior government source said Thursday as the province set another record for new daily COVID-19 infections.
Classes were set to resume as early as Monday in much of the province, but critics called for clarity on the back-to-school plan in light of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
The source said the extra two days are to give schools time to prepare, adding the province will deploy 3,000 more HEPA filter units to school boards in addition the 70,000 it has already rolled out, and will also provide N95 masks to staff.
The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of an afternoon announcement on the issue, also said the province would further restrict capacity in large indoor venues starting Friday. Concert venues, arenas and theatres are currently limited to 50 per cent capacity, but the source said there will also be a hard cap of 1,000 spectators for larger venues.
The source said the changes were approved by cabinet Thursday morning and will be officially announced by Ontario's chief medical officer of health in the afternoon.
There will be several short-term measures implemented at schools, such as virtual-only school-wide assemblies and more cohorting at lunch and recess for elementary students, the source said.
