Barrie 
Ontario schools will open for in-person classes only on January 5th, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore announced today.
Ontario is delaying its return to school to January 5th to provide schools additional time to prepare for the public health measure put in place for schools.
New measures include:
- Updating the COVID-19 school and child care screener ahead of the return to school on January 5 and asking students, parents and staff for rigorous screening and monitoring of symptoms.
- Providing non-fit-tested N95 masks for staff in schools and licensed child care settings as an optional alternative to medical/surgical masks, and an additional supply of high-quality three-ply cloth masks that are strongly encouraged and free for students and children in January.
- Deploying an additional 3,000 standalone HEPA filter units to school boards, building on the existing 70,000 HEPA filter units and ventilation devices already in schools.
- Continuing PCR testing eligibility for symptomatic elementary and secondary students, education staff and participating private and First Nation operated schools who have received a PCR self-collection kit through their school.
- Starting in January, temporarily permitting only low-contact indoor sports and safe extra-curricular activities.
- Updating COVID-19 reporting requirements for school boards and child care in January.
- Supporting the projected hiring of over 2,000 staff, funded by a $304 million allocation for second semester that includes additional teachers, custodians, and mental health workers.
Minister of Education Stephen Lecce said, “Students are returning to safer schools – with enhanced ventilation, high-quality masks, and one of the highest vaccine rates in Canada. We have followed the clear advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and pediatric hospitals by ensuring students safely return to learning in-class, alongside their friends and teachers. We are taking nothing for granted, which is why we are making available better quality masks, additional air ventilation units, and over $300 million to hire more teachers, custodians, and mental health workers, to ensure Ontario students remain as safe as possible.”
In addition, Ontario is changing testing and isolation guidelines based on the new evidance. The province says those with COVID-19 should isolate for five days if they are fully vaccinated or under the age of 12, and if their symptoms are improving for at least 24 hours.
Ontario is also limiting the capacity of large venues to 1000 effective Dec 31st.
The province reported 13,807 COVID-19 cases, a pandemic high in daily new cases.
Public Health of Ontario says the risk of hospitalization and death is 54 per cent lower for those who have the Omicron variant than those who have the Delta variant. This is offset by the fact that Omicron spreads much faster than the Delta variant.
