Ford says 'too soon' to say whether Ontario schools will be open to in-person learning in the new year

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday that it is "too soon" to say for sure whether schools in the province will re-open as scheduled following the break for the holidays.

Speaking at a news conference late Friday afternoon to announce new COVID-19 restrictions to help curb the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, Ford spoke directly to parents and said he understands that they are concerned and waiting for news.

“I know you're concerned about your kids’ schools and what to expect after the New Year,” Ford said. “I can tell you this: No decision had been made on what that looks like yet. We are simply not in a position to say.”

Case counts have been rising in Ontario school for weeks, with 72 publicly-funded schools and many private schools now closed to in-person learning due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

Ontario officials have insisted that they want schools to be the first place is to re-open and the last to close in the face of COVID-19 spread.

However speaking Friday for acknowledged that the situation is changing to rapidly right now to say for certain whether the school break might be extended in order to help control the spread of the virus.

“The situation is evolving too quickly to be able to know where we'll be in early January,” he said. “But that’s what we're working on every single day, with a goal of doing whatever is necessary to protect students and staff.”

The Toronto District school Board said earlier this week that they have not received any clear direction about whether or not schools will reopen in the new year, but asked students to take home learning materials just in case they do not.

More to come…