Ontario teacher unions call for further protections against COVID-19

Ontario’s teacher unions are calling for the mass vaccination of all education workers and more protection in schools against COVID-19 as a third wave surges across the province.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, union leaders said online learning should be adapted across the province until the safety of staff and students can be guaranteed.

“Immediate steps must be taken to ensure the safety of education workers and students in hot spot areas including a temporary move from in-person to virtual learning,” said Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario.

He also thanked public health officials in Toronto and Guelph, Ont., for moving their schools to virtual learning on Wednesday. He also praised Peel Region’s top doctor for shifting to online classes on Tuesday.

Hammond was joined at the news conference by representatives of unions for secondary school teachers, English Catholic teachers, Franco-Ontarian teachers, and non-educational school staff.

Schools in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Mississauga & Brampton make up 63% of all active COVID cases in Ontario schools. Its remains unclear if the Ford government will close school boards when announcing the stay at home order later today. Should they take a regional approach?

— Adrian Ghobrial (@AdrianGhobrial) April 7, 2021

Hammond said that about one in four schools in Ontario have an active COVID-19 case but that the true number of infections is probably larger.

“The incidents of cases in schools is likely much higher but because the government has failed to provide sufficient access to asymptomatic testing we simply don’t know to what extent,” said Hammond.

All of the educational worker unions called for mass vaccinations of school staff as soon as possible. Hammond said that his union was open to mobile immunization clinics vaccinating staff on site.

“I have no idea why that hasn’t happened yet,” said Hammond.

Under the new stay-at-home order the province announced Wednesday, schools will remain open for in-class learning, unless a local public health unit decides otherwise.

The government said education workers in COVID-19 hot spots would have access to vaccines starting next week.

With Ontario's government set to announce a stay at home order later today, OSSTF President @HarveyBischof says they still haven't heard if that means more school boards will be moving to virtual learning. Calling it a complete failure of communication from the Ford Gov.

— Adrian Ghobrial (@AdrianGhobrial) April 7, 2021

Ontario reported 416 new cases of COVID-19 among school-aged children on Wednesday. There were 118 new cases among children aged four to eight, 158 among children aged nine to 13, and 140 among children between the ages of 14 and 17.ean for public schools.

Laura Walton, president of the Ontario School Board Council of Unions, which represents non-educational staff, said that even with schools closed to in-class learning employees could still be at risk.

“We had seven out of eight custodians (in Thunder Bay, Ont.) contract COVID-19 while not a single student was in the school, yet they still had the (personal-protective equipment), they still were following all of the precautions,” said Walton of the last time Ontario closed schools after the winter holidays.

“This idea that if schools are closed everyone is safe and nothing is going to happen is not truthful.”