'Normalcy is taken away again': Ontario delays in-person learning for two weeks

New changes to Ontario’s return to school plan is met with mixed reaction from parents, most of whom would like to see children return to school, as long as it’s safe.

On Monday morning Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced new restrictions, in addition to schools closing to in-person learning, as COVID-19 cases soar in the province.

Students will now have to transition to virtual learning once again, as the Ford government implements a two-week delay to in-person learning.

“I feel sad that even that one normalcy for them is taken away again,” said Dianna Chepita.

As a mother of two, Chepita says many parents in the province are feeling a wide range of emotions with the announcement.

“I feel anger that our government waited so long for the inevitable,” she said.“But most of all, I’m sad for my children and I’m sad for all of the children of Ontario. They live in a province that doesn’t care about them.”

While addressing parents, Ford said he understands it’s not the news they wanted to hear. However, due to an alarming number of hospitalizations and cases, Ford said students will return to the classroom on Jan. 17.

Craig Smith, the president of the Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Thames Valley Teachers Local, believes there are still many hurdles the province must tackle, including providing more access to testing for staff and students and providing teachers with N95 masks on time.

“We’ve made it work. We’ll continue to do that and we will hope that the pivot is a short one because remote teaching and learning is no substitute for the real deal,” said Smith. “Those masks are not presently available, likely wouldn’t be made available to teachers until mid-January…”

The president of the Ontario Student Trustee’s Association (OSTA-AECO), Keith Andre told CTV News he’s relieved to hear about the delay and that he hopes it will give staff enough time to prepare for a safe return to in-person learning.

“I do feel happy that they listened to the student's voice, they finally acknowledged us, continuously messaging them, voicing our concerns through our student bodies,” he said. “It’s definitely something that thousands of students within Ontario have wanted these past few weeks.”

According to the Ontario government, there will be free emergency childcare for school-aged children of health-care and eligible front-line workers.