The Ontario government has extended school closures.
This includes extending in-person learning for elementary school students.
The announcement was made this afternoon and includes extending the in-person learning closures until January 25th in Southern Ontario and another 14 days in Northern Ontario to align with the rest of the province.
Premier Doug Ford says we have to get the numbers down and today’s measures will help us continue to stop the spread of this deadly virus.
Ford says they will continue to provide financial relief for parents through the Support for Learners program as well as electricity rate relief for all time-of-use customers.
Provincial numbers show the positivity rate among school-aged children has increased sharply. The rate for kids aged 12-13 years old increased from 5.44 per cent in late November/early December to nearly 20 per cent in early January.
In the nearly two weeks since Ontario was moved into a Provincewide Shutdown, trends in key public health indicators have continued to worsen in both Northern and Southern Ontario, including concerning trends in health system capacity, most notably in hospitals.
The impacts of these time-limited measures throughout the province will be evaluated after 14 days to determine if it is safe to lift any restrictions or if they need to be extended.
The Thames Valley District School Board has released the following statement…
Elementary students who attended classes at school prior to the Winter Break will continue to learn remotely at home until Friday, January 23. All Secondary students will continue to learn remotely at home until Friday, January 23.
There is no change for students already engaged in Elementary and Secondary Full Remote Learning.
Thames Valley will provide parents and guardians with more details about the return to in-school learning as soon as it becomes available.
The Board is in the process of deploying almost 9,000 computing devices to students to support at home learning.
The health, safety and well-being of students and staff is Thames Valley’s highest priority. The Board encourages students, parents, guardians and staff to monitor news outlets and Thames Valley websites and social media for further updates and information.
The London District Catholic School Board has yet to release any information.
