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Ontario Extends Teacher-Led Online Learning Until January 25 to Keep Students and Staff Safe in Southern Ontario
JANUARY 7, 2021 – NEWS RLEASE
PROVINCE ALSO EXTENDS PROVINCEWIDE SHUTDOWN IN NORTHERN ONTARIO
| TORONTO — As COVID-19 cases continue to rise at an alarming rate throughout the province, the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts, is extending certain measures to keep students, education staff, and residents of Northern Ontario safe. This includes extending in-person learning until January 25, 2021 for elementary school students in the 27 Southern Ontario public health unit regions and extending the shutdown in Northern Ontario for another 14 days, aligning with the shutdown period in Southern Ontario.These time-limited measures are being taken to help ensure that all Ontarians stay at home as much as possible to minimize transmission of the virus and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed, while at the same time being responsive to the fact that Northern Ontario students are not able to learn at home as effectively due to limited access to reliable Internet service.”With the public health trends where they are across the province, our priority remains keeping students, teachers, school staff, and all Ontarians safe,” said Premier Ford. “That’s why we’re extending the remote learning period for students in Southern Ontario and the shutdown period for Northern Ontario, while continuing to provide financial relief for parents through the Support for Learners program as well as electricity rate relief for all time-of-use customers. We have to get the numbers down and today’s measures will help us continue to stop the spread of this deadly virus.”Targeted testing done among students and staff in December 2020 confirmed that schools are not a significant source of transmission. However, with students having been at home for several weeks and with reports of concerning behaviour over the holidays, the positivity rate among school-aged children has increased sharply. Most troubling, the positivity rate for kids aged 12-13 years old increased from 5.44 per cent in late November, early December to nearly 20 per cent in early January.In response to increasing community transmission, in-person learning will be deferred to January 25, 2021 in Southern Ontario, which aligns with the planned return of in-person learning for secondary school students in these regions. Elementary students and secondary students in the seven Northern Ontario public health unit regions will proceed with returning to in-person learning on January 11, 2021.Returning students to school now with community transmission and positivity rates so high risks losing the hard-fought progress made in keeping schools and students safe. The Ministry of Education will continue to act on the best advice of medical and health experts to ensure that students in Northern Ontario are able to return to school safely and, when safe to do so, students in Southern Ontario as well.The government’s comprehensive plan of more than $1.3 billion to protect students and promote safe learning environments will continue to be in place to support students and staff. The plan includes investments in personal protective equipment, improved ventilation, money to support the hiring of additional staff, and the introduction of asymptomatic testing to screen against COVID-19.”I have and remain firmly committed to getting students back into class as soon as possible – there is nothing more important. However, the best medical and scientific experts have been clear: while schools have been safe places for kids, the sharp rise in community transmission puts that progress and Ontario families at risk,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. “During this time, students will remain engaged in live teacher-led online learning with access to enhanced mental health and technology supports.” In the nearly two weeks since Ontario was moved into a Provincewide Shutdown, trends in key public health indicators have continued to worsen in both Northern and Southern Ontario, including concerning trends in health system capacity, most notably in hospitals. Trends show increasing transmission in many Northern Ontario public health regions, with only one region showing a sustained low level of transmission. In addition, with the increased risk of transmission due to the confirmed presence of the COVID-19 UK variant in the province, the seven public health unit regions in Northern Ontario will remain in the shutdown until at least January 23, 2021. The impacts of these time-limited measures throughout the province will be evaluated after 14 days to determine if it is safe to lift any restrictions or if they need to be extended.“In the last two weeks, we have seen concerning trends at home and abroad, as well as increased community transmission during the holidays, indicating that it is not yet the time to begin easing public health and workplace safety measures,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “While extending the shutdown in Northern Ontario is not the news many wanted to hear, we must work together to stop the spread of COVID-19, protect hospital capacity, and save lives.”The Chief Medical Officer of Health will continue to consult with experts, review data, and provide advice to government on the appropriate and effective measures that are needed to protect the health of Ontarians. This will include an assessment of how and when it is safe to exit the Provincewide Shutdown and move public health unit regions back into the COVID-19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open, including how a revised approach for the safe reopening of retail may be operationalized.“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it is crucial that all Ontarians continue to follow all public health and workplace safety measures,” said Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. “To help stop the spread of COVID-19 and safeguard health system capacity, Ontarians are strongly urged to stay at home, limit trips outside of their households for essential reasons only and must not gather with individuals outside of the people they live with.”To support families during this extended school closure, child care centres, and home-based child care services will remain open. Ontario is also expanding eligibility for the Ministry of Education’s targeted emergency child care program for a broader number of frontline health and safety workers.In order to continue to support remote learning, the ministry has recommended that a portion of the second half of federal funding, an additional $80 million investment, will be provided for additional technological devices, such as laptops and tablets, to support school boards in procuring about 160,000 additional devices province-wide.Financial support is also available for families during this temporary remote learning period through the Support for Learners program. Starting on January 11, 2021, an expanded Support for Learners program is providing $200 for each child or youth up to Grade 12 and $250 for each child or youth up to age 21 with special needs. Applications will be open until February 8, 2021.For those requiring additional support during this challenging period, Ontario is providing an additional $10 million in support of student mental health, including funding for Kids Help Phone to support children and youth across the province. School Mental Health Ontario will be providing mental health resources and strategies to support students during this period. |
MARK THE DATE!! WEDNESDAY 27 JANUARY – 7:00 P.M. ON YOUTUBE
GIFT OF LIGHT – NIGHT #21
THE GIFT OF LIGHT – our Christmas gift to each other. Twenty-one nights of hope for 2021. Thank you to everyone who made these three weeks special.
On the final night – from my home to yours. Happy New Year!
NEW YEAR’S DAY 2021
Happy New Year and hope many of you join our Special Guests for coffee at 11:00 today. If you need the invitation, pls email CAO Paul Snider at psnider@villageofwestport.ca.
Here is the Mayor’s New Year’s letter:
January 1, 2021
Dear Westport Residents and Business Owners
To say that 2020 was stressful is an understatement. Beginning on January 8 when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “quit” their jobs as “senior” royals, January 9 when W.H.O. announced that a deadly coronavirus had emerged in Wuhan, China, January 26 we learned of the death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter in a helicopter crash. Other significant events were the impeachment of Donald Trump, the rape conviction of predator Harvey Weinstein and the wave of both peaceful and violent demonstrations and riots across the world to demand an end to police brutality and racial injustice. These all affected us in Canada, in Westport. But none as much as COVID-19.
We have been locked down, masked, moved through phases of relaxing government rules and now in lock down for another period of time. I have seen how hard all our residents and businesses have worked to keep the safety blanket around Westport and successfully prevented COVID-19 putting down roots while helping keep Westport open. Thank you Westport for being creative and willing to innovate during adversity. I am so blessed to be your Mayor.
One of the last pieces of business for your municipal government was to reach a satisfactory mediated settlement with the contractor who built the waste water system (LSSDS). We strongly disagreed with the quantum of the last payment demanded by the contractor. At the end of the day, in December the Village was only required to cover the cost of the additional sand necessary to complete the LSSDS. Well done, team.
As this tumultuous year comes to a close, let’s take a glass-half-full view and focus on some promising developments heading into 2021.
For those who keep their focus on the environment, the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has driven the biggest annual fall in CO2 emissions since World War Two. Several studies indicate that emissions have declined by around 7% in 2020. This has shown us that we at least know what is possible.
Hooray! vaccines are here – General (Ret’d) Rick Hillier is responsible for the distribution plan and logistics. He has acknowledged that the general population should expect to have access by May 2021.
For Villagers, there are many exciting plans this coming year. We have received a $100,000 grant that will be used to replace & repair sidewalks and/or make them Accessibility for Ontario’s with Disabilities Act (AODA) compliant.
The reconstruction of Bedford St will be completed in 2021. The tender closes in mid-January. We will keep you informed about the when and the how.
We are wishing our Treasurer/Deputy Clerk, Ms Anne-Marie Koiner, well when she retires at the end of March. Lots more to say about that later. It does mean that there will be a change of staff at Town Hall. The advertisement for Treasurer/Deputy Clerk is posted and closes January 15.
Westport’s need for growth and increase to the tax base is a similar story in many rural municipalities. When I moved here a decade ago, I used to brag that I was resident number 623, having been informed that before I moved here the population was 622. The most recent population count for our Village now stands at 590. Land Ark Homes, owned by Mr Stephen Rolston, is making the much needed growth a reality with the planned residential development in the “Derbyshire” property and the “Rice” farm at the north west end of the Village. This will be a busy year for Council, as the subdivision planning process from beginning to end requires many meetings, briefings and decisions. Some public meetings are mandatory either by the developer or the municipality. Notices of these meetings will be posted in the paper and certain affected residents will receive personal notices. Mr Rolston expects to have the sales office open by July 1st.
I want to leave you with this story about a 7-year old hero from Tennessee. After he and his family had gone to bed on December 8, the house soon filled with smoke. The parents could only rescue two of their children, their 22 month old daughter was trapped. Seven-year-old Eli saved his baby sister’s life when he jumped into her room through a window to rescue her. Eli later said, “I thought I couldn’t do it, but then I said, “I got her, Dad.'”
We are stronger together in the Village. Stronger because we have Westport spirit and Canadian Courage. “I got her, Dad” – let that young hero’s words be a reminder to us just what is possible when we support each other.
On behalf of Council and Staff at Town Hall, Happy New Year and all the best in 2021.
Mayor Robin Jones
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