All publicly funded Ontario schools will be shut down for two weeks following March break due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce said Thursday the decision was made based on the recommendation of Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, and the COVID-19 command table.
Schools will be closed from March 14 through April 5.
“We are taking decisive action to keep your child safe,” Lecce said at a news conference.
“Following this two-week period, we will evaluate the situation and decide if any further action is required.”
Lecce said the closure is a precautionary measure to mitigate the risk due to the increase of travel during the break that could expose many students and families to the virus.
He said if the situation worsens, the province will swiftly implement advice from health officials, adding that science will guide all decision-making in the ministry.
The province is finalizing a plan that “will ensure learning continues” for students during the two weeks when schools are closed, Lecce said.
“I’m committing to parents that there is a plan. It is in place. It is being finalized in real-time,” he said.
Lecce said the province recognizes the difficulty school closures will impose on parents, but he said the priority is ensuring the safety of students.
“We’ll continue to work with the federal government and other levels of government to ensure that the programs that exist support parents that are affected by this. But I think the obligation I have is to take action to ensure safety and to listen to the medical advice,” Lecce said.
The announcement does not impact daycare centers, Lecce’s office said. It is up to school boards and local public health units to decide whether daycares should close.
Opposition leader Andrea Horwath said plans should have been in place before Thursday’s announcement.
“Parents need to be assured that they can stay home with their kids and will not lose a paycheck if they do that and cannot be fired for doing that,” Horwath said. “They need to know that that’s the case.”
The announcement comes hours after the province reported 17 new confirmed cases of the virus, including two people under the age of 18.
Ontario currently has a total of 59 COVID-19 cases, with five recoveries.
Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health, said that anyone returning from travel abroad, including to the U.S., should “avoid group interactions and public gatherings wherever possible” and refrain from interacting with elderly people and those with chronic health conditions for 14 days following their return.
She said that people who have traveled within Italy, Iran and China’s Hubei province, where the virus is most prevalent, should also be self-isolating for 14 days regardless of whether they are exhibiting symptoms.
Earlier in the day, the province also announced it will open six dedicated COVID-19 assessment centers in the coming days as it works to ramp up its response to the global pandemic.
Meanwhile, the union representing the province’s elementary teachers said it is suspending planned rotating strikes that were set to begin on March 23.
“Following the March break, ETFO members will continue to engage in work-to-rule strike action but will not engage in the full withdrawal of service rotating strikes that were scheduled to begin on Monday March 23,” said ETFO President Sam Hammond.
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