112 Ontario schools report COVID-19 cases with hotspots still closed
Although classrooms in Ontario’s COVID-19 hotspots remain closed, over 100 schools across the province have reported a virus case in recent days.
According to provincial data, 112 schools in Ontario currently have at lease one case of COVID-19. Of the 167 active cases, 128 are students.
While most schools have reported just one or two cases, McKellar Park Central Public School in Thunder Bay has seen eight cases, and North Lambton Secondary School in Lambton Shores has recorded five.
Thirty-one schools in Ottawa have reported a case of COVID-19 in recent days.
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Schools in Ontario were allowed to resume in-person learning on February 8.
Schools in Toronto, Peel, and York — the province’s virus hotspots — will be able to reopen on February 16.
The Government of Ontario implemented a number of enhanced safety measures as classes resumed, including mandatory masking for students in Grades 1-3 and enhanced screening for secondary students and staff.
As well, targeted asymptomatic testing will be provided for students province-wide.
“I want to be clear that safety has and will always drive our decisions,” Education Minister Stephen Lecce said when announcing the return to class.
“I will not put your child at risk.”
To date, there have been 7,519 COVID-19 cases at 4,828 schools in Ontario.