Ontario confirms students are returning to classrooms Monday

By ROB GILLIES
Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — Students in Canada’s largest province will return to classrooms Monday, and teachers and staff will be provided with non-fitted N95 masks. The provincial government had said earlier this month that online learning would run until at least Jan. 17 because of a surge in infections with the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Ontario students have spent more time learning online during the pandemic than their peers elsewhere in Canada and the U.S. Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce confirmed Wednesday that students will return to classrooms Monday after reports surfaced earlier this week.