Updated–Back to school in person starting Monday, Feb. 1
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced Thursday, Jan. 28, that children in Thames Valley District School Board and London District Catholic School Board who wanted to could return to in-person classrooms effective Monday, Feb. 1, but that was later amended.
Elementary children can return to classes on Monday, Feb. 1, but secondary students won’t until Thursday, Feb. 4.
A total of four public health regions, including Southwestern and London-Middlesex as well as the Ottawa area and Eastern Ontario were covered by the back-to-school announcement, for a total of 280,000 students.
The return to school would come with additional “layers of protection,” Minister Lecce noted, including stronger masking rules that would include Grades 1 through 3, expanded access to testing for children who did not display COVID-19 symptoms, and tighter screening protocols.
“The government agrees with the growing consensus in the medical community that returning students to in-person learning is essential to the wellbeing, development and mental health of children. According to leading medical and scientific experts, including Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, our province’s schools are safe places for learning,” a statement from the education ministry said.