Ontario education minister set to detail plan for students' return to school

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Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce is set to outline the province's plan for students' return to school in September on Friday. His office hasn't provided any further information, but said that the details would be released at Premier Ford's afternoon COVID-19 briefing, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.Lecce, as well Health Minister Christine Elliott, will join the premier at the news conference. You can watch it live in this story.Students in Ontario have been out of the classroom since mid-March, when the province's efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 began to ramp up in earnest.In-person classes were cancelled for the remainder of the current academic year last month, but Lecce said at the time that he intends for schools to reopen in the fall. He said that the plan will include measures to ensure physical distancing and to restrict the movement of students at school."It is obvious that schools will not look the same, that we will have to re-imagine education in some respects in September, given that there will have to be some protocol changes," he explained. Earlier this week, a team of medical experts from Toronto's Sick Kids hospital endorsed a return to school for students and outlined several steps that the province should take in ensuring that children are safe in the classroom. Meanwhile, more regions of Ontario are moving into the second stage of the province's reopening plan today, including parts of the Greater Toronto Area.York, Durham and Niagara are among the areas allowed to further open their economies, though Toronto, Peel and Windsor-Essex will remain in the first stage until at least next Friday.Most areas were allowed to enter the second stage last Friday, except for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas, some regions that border the United States and those with COVID-19 outbreaks among migrant workers.The second stage of reopening includes restaurant patios, hair salons and swimming pools.As for the City of Toronto — which saw its 1,000 coronavirus-linked death this week — Peel and Windsor-Essex, Ford has urged patience.He says the province will re-evaluate the readiness of those areas on Monday.
 
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