TORONTO -- A large amount of childcare centres in the Greater Toronto Area will be closed for the next three weeks as officials make efforts to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
On Friday afternoon, it was announced that all programming inside Toronto District School Board properties, including daycare services, would be closed until April 5.
It was also announced Friday that all city-licensed child care centres will be closed as well until April 5.
The announcement came from the school board’s director, John Malloy, one day after the provincial government ordered all publicly funded schools to close for two weeks after March Break.
Malloy said the move comes in an effort to “minimize contact between people, especially children, in order to contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).”
“For this reason, all childcare centres located inside TDSB schools will also be closed and all TDSB extended day programs will be cancelled from March 14 through to April 5,” he said.
Malloy added that he recognizes these closures and cancellations will be “challenging for many families,” but states that “this approach is to ensure the health and wellbeing of all families and is consistent with the Ministerial Order to close schools.”
Furthermore, all evening uses of TDSB facilities, as well as recreation programs and school-based meetings, will also be banned during this time period.
The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) also said all before and after school programs and childcare centres will be closed during the two-week period. Also, all March Break camps will not operate during that time.
Shortly after, officials in Peel Region recommended that all childcare centres, March Break camps and before and after school programs be closed during the same time period.
As well, officials are recommending anyone who has travelled anywhere outside of Canada to self-monitor for symptoms of the virus and avoid attending locations in Peel Region “where it is difficult to distance yourself from others, such as schools, workplaces and mass gatherings for 14 days.”
The York Region District School Board has announced it will also close all daycare facilities.
"By order of the Minister of Education, all publicly funded schools in Ontario will be closed from March 14 until April 5 to interrupt the spread of COVID-19," a statement reads. "Transportation services, continuing education, permit activities, before and after care programs and daycare are also closed."
On Thursday, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the order to close all publicly funded schools across the province until April 5 was a “necessary precaution to keep people safe.”
Lecce said the decision was made immediately following a recommendation by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams.
Speaking to reporters that afternoon, Williams said there has not been much data released thus far on how COVID-19 can impact children. Two people under the age of 18 were diagnosed with the virus this week in the province, proving that it can in fact develop in children.
