Premier Doug Ford says Ontario students will not be returning to their public schools on May 4 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Ford shared the news on Tuesday afternoon during his daily COVID-19 briefing at Queen's Park and added that Education Minister Stephen Lecce will be providing more details on the announcement in the coming days.
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However, in light of this news, Premier Ford said this doesn't mean that the school year is cancelled.
To further assist students being out of the classroom amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has launched a teacher-led online learning program for students, which includes graded work and course credits.
This is the second time the date for reopening Ontario public schools has been pushed back. The provincial government initially pushed the return date on March 31 and stated that all publicly funded scho0ls would remain closed until May 1 for teachers and May 4 for students.
Premier Ford previously said he is prepared to extend the closures even further if the province’s chief medical officer of health advises him to.
