Schools in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, will close from Wednesday to distance learning due to a third wave of COVID-19 infections driven by more contagious variants of the virus.
Toronto Health Minister Dr. Eileen de Villa said in a statement that stricter measures are required to reverse the rebound.
“There has never been such a spread of COVID-19 in Toronto, with levels of concern increasing both the risk of contagion and developing severe symptoms or even death,” de Villa said in a statement.
Ontario has seen more than 3,000 new cases a day in recent days, as well as record numbers of patients in intensive care.
The move came after neighboring Peel Region took similar actions. The closings will be revalued at the end of the month. Toronto is one of the largest school districts in North America.
Local health authorities made the decision after the province refused to implement measures. Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford, who previously said schools were safe, has been criticized by health authorities for not doing enough to control the number of infections.
Ford has refused to close the malls, but has criticized the people who visit them.
“Across the world, countries are facing a very serious third wave of this pandemic. And right now, also Canada. This is not the news we wanted, but hospitalizations are on the rise. Beds in intensive care units are filling up, “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
Trudeau said he plans to talk with Ford “about what the increase in cases means for hospitals and the importance of vaccinating as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.”
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