Schools can reopen safely on a regional basis, there is no risk of nullifying the progress made by the province in reducing the spread of the virus during the third wave. This is what the COVID-19 Science Advisory Table of Ontario says.

The scientific committee, made up of medical experts, medical associations and hospitals across the province, issued this statement after Ontario Premier Doug Ford asked for his input on whether schools should be reopened. “We believe Ontario can safely reopen schools on a regional basis to mitigate the significant short- and long-term damage resulting from their closure while managing the risk of virus transmission in this field,” reads Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table statement.

David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health for the Province of Ontario, said in recent days that he believes schools can reopen safely and has already contacted local health officials to make sure they have the resources to deal with a return to learning in person. Ford, however, has so far refused to commit to reopening schools before the end of the academic year. “I am very familiar with Dr Williams’ opinion, but I also want scientists, teachers’ unions and other education workers to contribute to this decision,” Ford said. If it takes a couple more days, so be it. This is a very important decision.”

Meanwhile, Williams – whose views in recent weeks are not in line with those of the premier – will be replaced by Dr Kieran Moore, Kingston’s health officer, from June 26. This was announced yesterday by the provincial government.

Schools across Ontario have been closed for in-person learning since mid-April, but with the province planning to enter the first phase of its reopening plan by June 14, there have been growing calls for kids to return to classrooms for the remaining few weeks before the summer vacation.

The science table argues that closing schools during the pandemic “creates harm” as it deteriorates the mental health of children and young people. “This deterioration is now evident in the form of increased use of outpatient care and hospital admissions, especially for children and young people with eating disorders – said the committee – we believe that these mental health indicators represent the tip of the iceberg and that the mental health of children and young people will present significant long-term challenges during our recovery from the pandemic.”

In the letter sent to doctors and teachers, Ford raised specific concerns about the reopening of schools, including the growing presence of the B.1.617 variant, which was first discovered in India. The premier also pointed out that based on today’s data the number of cases could increase between 2,000 and 4,000 by the end of July if all schools were reopened.

In its response, the scientific table acknowledged that the variant “has a significant unknown” and that the province should continue to administer the first doses of vaccine and accelerate the second doses for the people most vulnerable to Covid-19. Ahead of September, the science table said the government should work over the summer to ensure schools are safe and ready for students to return: vaccinating students and improving ventilation in school buildings is a priority.

Like the province’s science table, health officials in Toronto, Peel Region and York Region have expressed their support for resuming learning in classrooms. Teachers’ unions, for their part, said they had consistently “supported the safe and regional reopening of schools”, but felt that the final decision should be left to doctors.

One voice out of the chorus is UofT Dalla Lana School of Public Health epidemiologist David Fisman: “The end of the pandemic is within our grasp in Ontario. We could get out of it or not. Why, in my opinion, risk an increase in intensive care admissions and the accelerated spread of strain b1617? It’s not worth it,” Fisman wrote on Twitter.

Opinions are clearly divided: we will have to see who Ford will listen to.