Toronto's public health agency will force all schools to close on Wednesday and have students learn remotely instead, it announced Tuesday. Toronto Public Health (TPH) said in a statement the shutdown is needed to reverse a surge of new COVID-19 infections — the city reported 955 new cases earlier in the day. Child-care centres attached to schools will be allowed to open but won't be able to accommodate students whose classes were closed under the order, TPH said. The closure means more than 300,000 students, including those who attend private or independent schools, will return to learning from home exclusively. Province maintains schools are safeCaitlin Clark, spokesperson for Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce, said the provincial government believes schools are safe and not sources of transmission.

Source: CBC News April 06, 2021 18:33 UTC