NEWS RELEASE
ALGOMA DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
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Late yesterday, Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott (Deputy Premier and Minister of Health) and Stephen Leece, Minister of Education, issued a statement and advised that, based on advice from Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and the experts at the COVID-19 Command Table, the Minister of Education issued a Ministerial Order to close all publicly funded schools in Ontario for two weeks following the March Break, in response to the emergence in Ontario of COVID-19. The order was approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
This means that Ontario schools have been ordered to remain closed from March 14 through to April 5, 2020 which includes:
• Elementary and secondary schools
• Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS), English as a Second Language (ESL) and adult education programs
• Alternative, field schools and off-site programs
• Dual Credit Programs
• Home instruction
• Section 23 programs
• OYAP and cooperative education placements
• All third-party licensed childcare operators/before and after programs
• All community use of schools
Board personnel continue to be in regular communication with the Algoma Public Health Unit (our lead agency) and the Ministry of Education who receives direction and information from the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health. The Ministry of Education continues to assess the impact on student learning and the spread of COVID-19, thus as more information becomes available we will update parents through our voice messaging system and/or our website.
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