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Sports teams, clubs & other extracurriculars will be back at schools next fall, promises Ontario education minister

Ontario's school reopening plan will be released "in the coming weeks," Education Minister Stephen Lecce said.

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Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce says Ontario elementary and secondary students will be able to enjoy extracurricular activities like sports and clubs at schools next year with some pandemic protocols in place.

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Lecce made the comment during a media conference Tuesday while also repeating his support for offering in-person, full-time classes next fall. Students are also being given the option of studying online at home.

Education unions and some parents have been pressuring Lecce for details of school safety and operational plans for 2021-22.

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Ontario’s school reopening plan will be released “in the coming weeks,” Lecce said Monday.

The plan is expected to include details on everything from mask use to physical distancing, testing, scheduling and, presumably, how extracurricular activities would be conducted.

Lecce said the government was committed to restoring extracurricular activities this fall with adaptations as required by public health officials.

Students have been deprived of sports teams, clubs, bands, school plays and other extracurricular activities since the pandemic arrived in the spring of 2020. Some schools offered virtual clubs and activities.

Officials at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board have said they expect the province’s school reopening plan to arrive in August.

The lack of detailed information is causing consternation among education unions and some parents, who want assurances that measures are being taken now to make schools safer next fall and to help students recover from learning losses after two years of schooling disruptions caused by the pandemic.

At the same time, the trajectory of the virus remains uncertain. The more contagious COVID-19 Delta virus variant is on the rise in Ontario even as the province’s vaccination campaign rolls out.

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Some scientists warn of a possible surge of cases among unvaccinated students when schools open next fall. Children under 12 are not yet eligible for the vaccines, though youth aged 12 to 17 will have the chance to be double-dose vaccinated by fall.

Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said immunization rates would have to be high in order for social and extracurricular activities at schools and post secondary institutions to resume.

Moore did not specify a particular vaccination threshold that would be required, nor did he comment on extracurriculars at elementary schools, where the majority of students will not be vaccinated.

It’s only around nine weeks until the return of school, Moore said Tuesday during a COVID-19 briefing. The clock is ticking, he said, urging young people to get vaccinated.

“We need the highest rates of protection heading into the fall.”

Moore said 58.6 per cent of youths aged 12 to 17 had one dose of vaccine, and 66.5 per cent of people aged 18 to 29 had one dose.

Among all Ontario adults, 78.4 per cent have one dose and 47.8 per cent have two doses, he said.

When considering everyone who is eligible for a vaccine, from age 12 up, 67.5 per cent have one dose and 39.6 per cent have two doses.

The Education Ministry has already told school boards that elementary students will be cohorted again this fall. This school past year, cohorting meant students stuck with their classes, including at recess.

It’s unclear how cohorting might be adjusted next fall to allow for extracurricular activities like sports teams and clubs that traditionally involve mixing students from multiple classes.

At high schools, the ministry has said students will be allowed to take only two courses a day next fall, another measure to limit mixing.

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