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TORONTO Premier Doug Ford says he is going to consult with the province’s medical experts on whether students should return to schools next week.
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He says the government will be making an announcement on the issue in the coming days.
All students are currently learning online as part of a provincial lockdown, but those in Northern Ontario and elementary students in southern Ontario are set to return to in-person classes next week.
The province’s largest teachers’ union says, however, that it wants all local public health units to reconsider opening elementary schools.
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Nine new cases of COVID-19 were reported Wednesday by the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit.
That brings to 30 the number of active cases in the region. Sixteen are in Nipissing District and 14 in Parry Sound.
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There have now been 161 confirmed cases reported in the two districts since the pandemic was declared in March.
One person has died of the disease.
Four of the most recent cases involve people aged 19 or younger, four are in the 60-to-79 age group and one is aged 40 to 59. One case is resolved, the others are isolating.
Published Wednesday, January 6, 2021 3:35PM EST TORONTO - COVID-19 s winter surge has kept Kimberleigh Armstrong s three kids out of the classroom longer than anticipated, but she fears the risks of returning next week as scheduled. Spiking cases and hospitalizations offer the Toronto mom little assurance the pandemic is under control, and she wonders if classmates and their families socialized over the holidays. “It makes me nervous because I don t know where those kids were,” says Armstrong, who d prefer in-class instruction be delayed at least two weeks. “Do I want my kids to go back after one week? Not necessarily. But on the other hand, I do, because I know for my son, especially, he has issues and he needs that socialization.”
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A tentative agreement has been reached between the Grand Erie District School Board and its elementary teaches.
Board chair Greg Anderson said he is pleased two parties have arrived at a deal.
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“Our elementary teachers do such wonderful work on behalf of our students,” Anderson said. “We’re so grateful to them for the impact they make daily in our schools and in the lives of our students and families.”
The teaches are represented by the Grand Erie Elementary Teachers Federation, a local of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario.