Premier Doug Ford is expected to unveil plans today on how schools will open in September.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce has directed school boards to prepare for three possible scenarios for the new school year due to COVID-19: Full-time in class, full time online learning or a hybrid model of the two.
However, it’s up to each individual schoolboard to prepare a plan under each of these scenarios, and it’s up to each parent to decide whether or not they want to participate.
Parents who don’t feel comfortable sending their kids physically back to class in September can simply continue with online classes.
Ford said yesterday that the return of two million students in September is concerning and makes him nervous but he will take the advice from medical experts on how to do it safely.
Meanwhile, a new report from Toronto’s SickKids Hospital and other hospitals across Ontario, recommends high school students wear face masks indoors whenever physical distancing rules cannot be followed.
The recommendations add elementary school students should not be expected to follow the same guidelines.