Ontario schools report 194 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours
Ontario schools have reported nearly 194 new COVID-19 cases over a 24-hour period.
According to provincial data, 194 school-related cases were reported on Wednesday morning, bringing the total seen over the last two weeks to 1,386.
Currently, 816 schools across the province have a case of COVID-19, and 34 have closed.
Government of Ontario
On Tuesday, 263 cases were reported over a three-day period from March 5 to March 8.
A total of 202 schools in Toronto have a virus case – the most of any region in the province. Ottawa has the second-highest count with 67 schools, followed by Brampton with 52 schools.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce said that enhanced safety supports would be provided to the schools, such as mandating Grades 1 to 3 to wear masks, targeted asymptomatic testing, stricter screening protocols, and hiring more teachers.
Reducing cohort classroom size to 15 students has yet to be mandated.
March break will be postponed until the week of April 12 to limit community transmission of COVID-19
Lecce noted that with the COVID-19 variants, the goal is to ensure that spread of the virus does not take place by reducing travel, which often takes place during the break.
Last week, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) said that it had begun planning for a full return to in-class learning this September.
Ryan Bird, a spokesperson from the TDSB, told Daily Hive on March 5 that the Ministry of Education has asked school boards to plan for no COVID-related funding, meaning they must plan for in-person learning.
As of March 8, the Stay at Home orders were lifted in Toronto, Peel, and North Bay-Parry Sound. All of Ontario’s 34 regions have now reentered the colour-coded framework.
Since schools reopened in September 2020, there have been a total of 9,681 reported COVID-19 cases out of over two million public school students.
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