Arabnews24.ca:Monday 10 January 2022 09:59 PM: Schools across Ontario will reopen for in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 17, sources with knowledge of the decision say.
The Toronto Star first reported the news earlier on Monday.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Jan. 3 — amid reports of surging COVID-19 cases fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant — that all publicly funded and private schools would move to remote learning starting on Jan. 5.
He said then that Ontario government decided to close schools because the province couldn't guarantee schools would be fully staffed with so many teachers expected to be off sick. The schools were expected to be closed at least two weeks.
That Jan. 3 announcement came just days after Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, said the return to school date would be pushed back but would still be in-person. Moore had said the province wanted to give schools extra time to provide N95 masks to staff and to deploy 3,000 HEPA filter units.
Ford had said schools would reopen for in-person learning on Jan. 17, however many wondered if that date would be delayed.