Ontario government spending $35M to help schools in COVID-19 hot spots

TORONTO — Ontario is spending $35 million to help schools in COVID-19 hot spots.

Premier Doug Ford says the funding will be directed to school boards in Toronto, Ottawa, Peel Region and York Region.

Ford says the new funding will help schools provide more physical distancing in the classroom.

It will also help school boards hire teachers and custodians, and buy laptops for online learning.

The government has been criticized since it launched its back-to-school plan in August for not doing enough to lower class sizes.

Ontario reported 56 new COVID-19 cases related to schools on Monday, including at least 31 among students.

Those bring the number of schools with a reported case to 335 out of Ontario’s 4,828 publicly funded schools.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2020.

The Canadian Press