School boards in four regions across the province that are continuing to battle high COVID-19 rates will receive an additional $35 million this fall, the province announced on Monday.
Boards in Toronto, Peel, Ottawa, and York, areas that accounted for more than 80 per cent of the province's newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, will be able to use the funds to hire more staff or buy more technology, Premier Doug Ford said.
"There are certain areas of the province that are seeing higher community spread, the schools in those places they need some extra support," said Ford. "This funding will help provide more physical distancing in classrooms, support smaller classrooms, and provide more resources for remote learning. For example, schools can use funding to buy more laptops, tablets or other devices for online learning, or hire more teachers or custodians at schools."
The $35 million is part of the $50 million in federal funding the province had set aside to "respond to emerging challenges during the return to school."
"We’re ... cognizant of the fact that rising cases within our communities can enter our schools," said Education Minister Stephen Lecce, adding that the funding was being allocated to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 in these areas. "All boards, English and French, public and Catholic are receiving funding to these targeted areas."
The Toronto District School Board is set to receive $9 million, which the government said could be used to hire 90 to 120 teachers or 150 custodians, or to buy 18,000 technological devices. Spokesperson Ryan Bird said the board had just learned it was receiving the money and staff would need to "review the details to determine next steps."
Some of the other boards receiving funding include $3.4 million for the Toronto Catholic District School Board, $5.8 million for the Peel District School Board, $4.8 million for the York Region District School Board, $2.9 million for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and $2.8 million for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.
COVID-19 numbers
The province reported 615 new cases of COVID-19 and five deaths on Monday. This brings the total number of cases to 54,814 and total deaths to 2,980. Nearly 47 per cent of the newly confirmed cases were in Toronto, 289, while there were 88 in Peel, 81 in Ottawa and 47 in York Region. Toronto, Peel and Ottawa have been flagged as COVID-19 hot spots and are facing tighter restrictions on their bars, restaurants and event venues than other regions of the province, though some health professionals think the measures don't go far enough.
School cases
Meanwhile, another 56 cases were reported in Ontario schools — 31 students, eight staff and 17 not identified. That brings the total to 539 school-related cases of COVID-19, with 335 or 6.9 per cent of schools with at least one case. The Toronto Catholic District School Board stated on Twitter this weekend that St. Charles Catholic School would be closed this week.
Please be advised that out of an abundance of caution St. Charles Catholic School will be temporarily closed from Monday, October 5 to Friday, October 9 as a result of a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and discussions with Toronto Public Health.
— Toronto Catholic District School Board (@TCDSB) October 5, 2020
The Toronto Star reported the closure occurred after an itinerant teacher had contact with several classes in the school.
Shazia Vlahos, the board's chief of communications and government relations, said the decision was made "in an abundance of caution to help ensure the safety of our staff and students."
Vlahos said the board "worked closely" with the Ministry of Education and Toronto Public Health on its back-to-school plan and that the government "approved plans to use itinerant teachers in multiple cohorts." Itinerant teachers at the board include music, physical education and French teachers.
She added that trustees have put forth a motion asking staff to provide a report by Oct. 15 on "the development of a plan to reduce [the] number of schools visited/caps on students per day for itinerants and how the board can implement improvements for itinerants, students and staff."
Lecce said the government asked boards to ensure that specialized teachers, including those that teach French and music, limited their movement between schools.
Social circles
Social circles are no longer applicable in Ontario — that's according to the province's top doctors.
"I guess we’re saying the social circle at this point is not relevant," Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health, said at a media briefing on Monday. "Given the current picture we’re saying stick to your household."
The concept was first announced in June as a way for Ontarians to resume close contact with people outside their household, while still being cautious during a global pandemic. Social circles allowed people to create groups of up to 10 people with whom they could interact without masks or distancing.
With social circles no longer applying, for Thanksgiving this means limiting celebrations to those you live with and holding virtual gatherings with people outside of your household, Yaffe said. As for those living alone, Yaffe said they can consider "exclusive close contact" with another household that they trust.
Travelling through the province
Dr. Andrea Feller, Niagara's associate medical officer of health, asked residents in a tweet on Oct. 3 not to travel to Ottawa and Toronto along with its surrounding areas — regions that have been hit hard by COVID-19.
OK #Niagara. Straight up
1. ✔️EVERY day. mildest symptom=isolate immediately, get tested.
2. Make sure workplace does active symptom screening!
3. No crowds, 2 metres always from anyone you don't live with.
4. Don't go to Toronto/Peel/GTA/Ottawa.
We can do it. #NiagaraRocks
— Andrea Feller (@AndreaFeller2) October 3, 2020
Asked by CHCH whether people should avoid going to these COVID-19 hot spots, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said the government hasn't implemented any official travel restrictions within the province.
He added that while people shouldn't travel or leave their homes if they don't need to, if people do need to travel, including to these regions, they should follow public health protocols like distancing and wearing a mask.
"Not an official one, but unofficially you have to be very judicious about your choice of when to travel and where to travel," Williams said.
Long-term care
The premier was asked by CTV about the Ontario Long Term Care Association's testimony to the long-term care commission indicating that the association flagged its concerns about the sector's "readiness" for COVID-19 as early as January.
"Our guidelines came out at the first week of April, that doesn’t mean we weren’t thinking about it right from the get-go," said Ford.
He said the government was focused on the long-term care sector since being elected.
"We were moving forward the whole time, right from January, February, and prior to that too, and fixing long-term care, we know it's broken it’s been broken for decades and we’re doing everything we can to make sure we correct any issues that are brought forward," he said.
More than 1,800 long-term care residents have died in Ontario since the start of the pandemic, about half of them by the time the government released its guidelines for the long-term care sector.
"It's a big issue for some"
While announcing his impending departure from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, tweeted "Don't be afraid of COVID. Don't let it dominate your life."
I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2020
Asked about this messaging, Williams said that while COVID-19 has at the outset presented mildly in some young people, it has had a more severe effect on the older or vulnerable populations.
"I can’t agree that across the board it’s not a big issue, it is a big issue for some," Williams said, adding that it's important to be cautious about making any "wide-sweeping comments," such as the one made by Trump.
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