Hamilton’s top doctor to recommend school boards prepare for ‘possible pivot to online learning’ after April break

Hamilton's top doctor says she plans to recommend school boards prepare for a possible shift to remote learning after the April break.

In a general issues committee meeting on Wednesday, Hamilton's medical officer of health, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, said public health is meeting with school board directors on Wednesday afternoon.

My advice to them is going to be that they prepare their students and their teachers as they go home at the end of this week for a possible pivot to online learning," she said. We do know that that is the thing that is mostly likely to change the transmission in our community and bring case counts down."

What that might look like will depend on any further restrictions announced by the province, Richardson said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to issue a new stay-at-home order Wednesday in another attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19. It is unclear what, if any, impact the announcement will have on schools.

Amid a surge of COVID-19 cases, some school boards - including Peel, Toronto and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph - have closed schools in the week leading up to April break.

More to come.

Kate McCullough is a Hamilton-based reporter covering education at The Spectator. Her work is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Reach her via email: kmccullough@thespec.com