Ontario Schools to Transition to Online Learning Following Spring break

By: Laura Steiner

Ontario schools will transition to online learning following as of April 19, 2021.  The announcement was made as part of an effort to fight the wider spread of COVID-19 variants within the province.

“We are seeing a rapidly deteriorating situation with a record number of COVID cases and hospital admissions threatening to overwhelm our healthcare system,”  Premier Doug Ford said.   The move was in response to increased community spread. The province  recorded an increase of 4,401 cases over yesterday.  14 cases are in Intensive Care units, and another 26 are on ventilator due to COVID-19 related illness. In Halton has recorded 161 new cases of COVID-19.  61 of these come from Milton Ontario.  Halton hospitals have 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 33  in ICU.

There is no set return date.  “We will communicate to parents based on the advice receive from the Chief Medical Officer of Health to reopen our schools,” Education Minister Stephen Lecce.  Before and after-school programs will remain open, with the province providing free emergency child care for school-aged children of eligible health-care workers as well as first responders. On Thursday the province announced phase two of its vaccine  roll-out  which will target Education workers working with special needs kids province-wide. The province has also added 700 additional pharmacies offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to residents over the age of 55.

Halton Region will expand its COVID-19 vaccine appointments to four more groups beginning Friday April 16, 2021.