April 8^th

Ontario COVID-19 assessment centres and participating pharmacies will offer asymptomatic testing for students and education staff from April 12^th to 18^th.

It is the “Mission No. 1” is to keep Ontario schools open. Education Minister said, Asymptomatic COVID-19 testing offered during spring break will help keep students safe. The testing will help ensure students can return to school after the break “with confidence,” Lecce said at a news conference Wednesday.

It was one of several measures Lecce announced to beef up safety while making clear that his “Mission No. 1” is to keep Ontario schools open.

Lecce repeated what Premier Doug Ford said earlier in the day as rising COVID-19 cases triggered another stay-at-home order that takes effect Thursday: schools are safe.

In-person classes are important for the mental health of students and their parents who work, Lecce said.

“This is a plan to keep kids in class where they belong.”

School boards in Toronto, Peel, and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph were ordered by their local public health authorities to end in-person classes this week. Thunder Bay and Sudbury students were shifted to remote learning at home in March.