Ontario to start sharing data about school absences online amid Omicron

Ontario will begin sharing data about school absences online starting Monday.

The province’s website will be updated with information about how many schools are closed and will also feature a searchable table that will show the combined absenteeism rate for staff and students by school.

The website will show data about the previous school day.

Ontario no longer requires schools to notify parents and caregivers 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 Monday, information about absences will be posted online.

Students and teachers were set to return to class on Jan. 17 following two weeks of remote learning as Omicron cases surged to unprecedented levels. A massive snowstorm in Southern Ontario delayed the return until Jan. 19 for many schools.

Over the weekend, Ontario reported 3,797 people in hospital with COVID-19 including 604 in intensive care units.