While the province announced Wednesday afternoon that secondary schools would be permitted to return to regular semester schedules starting in February 2022, with COVID-19 cases rising in the general population – especially in local schools –the Simcoe County District School Board says it's taking the recommendation under advisement for now.
The local board has made no definitive decisions on the winter semester.
“We will communicate with the board of trustees and the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit on our next steps,” said Dawn Stephens, associate director of education and superintendent of student achievement with the Simcoe County District School Board. “It’s a great announcement and we’re really happy to hear that we can plan for this.
“But, as you know, with COVID-19, it’s a very fluid situation and February is a long way away,” she added.
As of Nov. 19, the under-18 age group has the most instances of COVID in Simcoe-Muskoka. Of the currently active 425 cases here, 138 cases are in youth under 18 years old, 86 are in people between 18 and 34 years old, 88 are in people aged 45 to 64 years old, and 38 are in people aged 65 to 79 years old. There are also seven cases in people over 79 years old.
As of Nov. 18 reporting, there are currently 73 active COVID cases in Simcoe County schools.
“Provincial case counts continue to rise and we just don’t want to say we’re doing this, but then have to (change). It will depend on where the situation is in February. We have to be cautious in our planning,” said Stephens.
As of Nov. 19, there are currently 5,094 active COVID cases provincewide. New cases on Friday include 194 individuals under 12 years old, 45 youth between 12 and 19 years old, 215 people between 20 and 39 years old, 198 people between 40 and 59 years old, 120 people between 60 and 79 years old, and 23 people over 79 years old.
Also on Nov. 19, Health Canada announced it had authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in children between five and 11 years old. It was previously approved by the FDA for use in children in the United States on Oct. 29.
As part of Wednesday’s announcement, the Ministry of Education also announced that virtual assemblies would be allowed and lunch breaks would be restricted to classroom cohorts.
The guidance is in addition to the enhanced winter testing strategy announced by the province on Wednesday. Before the December break, students will receive a box of five rapid antigen tests. Participation is voluntary. Those who choose to take part will be advised to do a rapid antigen test every three to four days over the break.
Stephens said decisions on the direction of the February semester will likely be communicated to families and the general public in January.
“We can prepare in the background, but we have to be able to pivot if needed,” she said. “We’re happy we have this as an option. We would love to go back to a regular semester, as we think it’s the best model.”
