Ontario to start sharing data about school absences amid Omicron
Posted Jan 24, 2022 11:02:34 AM.
Ontario is set to start sharing data about school absences today, a week after in-person learning resumed without public reporting of classroom COVID-19 exposures.
The province moved its schools to remote learning at the end of the winter break as Omicron cases surged to unprecedented levels and overwhelmed the testing system.
When schools reopened on Jan. 17, the province no longer required them to share information about COVID-19 cases.
Instead parents will be notified when absenteeism among staff and students reaches 30 per cent, regardless of whether those absences are connected to the virus, and as of today, information about absences will be posted online.
The province's website will share information about how many schools were closed, and will also have a searchable table showing the combined absenteeism rate for staff and students by school.
The website will show data about the previous school day.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2022.
