Ontario delaying return to classrooms by two weeks amid ‘tsunami’ of Omicron cases

Amid what he called a “tsunami” of new Omicron cases, the return to classrooms for Ontario students and staff has been delayed by an additional two weeks.

Last week the province announced that students would be back in the classroom on Wednesday, but following an emergency cabinet meeting Sunday night the Ford government has pushed that date back to at least January 17.

In the press conference that happened on Monday, January 3, the province says the change is “subject to public health trends and operational considerations.”

The province also notes that:

• School buildings would be permitted to open for child care operations, including emergency child care, to provide in-person instruction for students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated remotely and for staff who are unable to deliver quality instruction from home.
• During this period of remote learning, free emergency child care will be provided for school-aged children of health care and other eligible frontline workers.

“Children will continue to receive live virtual learning during this period, led by their teacher, with full access to school-based academic and mental health supports,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education.

“We will continue to work closely with the Chief Medical Officer of Health to keep our communities safe and ensure that Ontario students get back to in-person learning as soon as possible.”

The move comes as the highly-transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19 has pushed cases to record-breaking numbers.

On Sunday, the Ford government revealed it would no longer collect COVID-19 case numbers from schools and child care centres after new testing guidelines were announced last week.

In a memo to provincial school boards, the Ministry of Education said due to recent changes in case and contact management it will “suspend reporting” of COVID-19 cases in schools.

The opposition NDP called the move to stop reporting cases of COVID in schools and child care settings “terrifying for parents.”

Infection Control Epidemiologist, Dr. Colin Furness, also raised alarm bells about the province’s initial plan to have students return to classes on Wednesday, calling it “catastrophic.”

Furness said a return to classes that fast would result in a “sudden mass infection” that could result in thousands of hospitalizations.

Ontario reported 13,578 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, down from Saturday’s record-breaking 18,445 cases. However, the number of  cases is underreported after Ontario changed testing requirements.

The number of ICU admissions continued to rise on Monday. There are now 248 patients in intensive care, up from 224 on Sunday.

The Ontario Health Association says 124 of those patients are on a ventilator. The seven-day rolling average of patients in the ICU now sits at 210.

– With files from John Marchesan and Patricia D’Cunha