

With approximately two million school-age children and 160,000 teachers in Ontario, it is clear the health and well-being of these children, their parents, teachers and staff must be central to the decision-making process. We must make decisions that avoid major risk to health and life, and continuously consider the impact on the pandemic curve.
Planning for the reopening of schools in September in the safest way possible is central to managing the ongoing challenges that COVID-19 presents to Ontarians’ health, the health of our communities, and our economy. Balancing pandemic health risks related to the reopening of schools with risks related to developmental, mental health and social risks to our children and youth from not opening is the challenge we must get right.
RNAO cannot be fully supportive of the current plan for reopening schools. We are calling for urgent attention to the following by the government to ensure the highest degree of success in this critical step for Ontario children and youth:
Welcoming 500 school-focused public health nurses (PHN)
RNAO welcomes the provision of $50 million to hire 500 additional, school-focused public health nurses (PHN). These PHNs must be located in public health units to provide rapid- response support to schools and boards in facilitating public health and preventive measures, including screening, testing, tracing and mitigation strategies. These additional registered nurses will also play a key role in ensuring overall mental health in schools, in light of the pandemic, as well as ongoing student health and well-being matters. We believe these should be permanent positions as children and youth would benefit immensely.
RNAO’s position urges the following policy directions to ensure the most effective impact of the PHN role:
On July 14, 2020, we launched our #Maskathon campaign to encourage both children and adults to wash their hands, maintain physical distancing and wear a mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
We continue to urge anyone over three years of age to properly wear a non-medical mask in indoor public spaces, busy areas and on transit.
To learn more, please visit our official #Maskathon page in our COVID-19 portal.
Our CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun has been providing RNAO members and the public with important COVID-19 updates, advice and commentary since the onset of the pandemic through her official blog.
Blog posts related to Ontario's schools reopening:
RNAO has been actively engaged with the media since the onset of the pandemic.
Please visit our Press Room for our media releases and advisories, media conferences, and media hits related to COVID-19 and schools reopening.