classes in favour of online classes, and high school students with special needs would be able to attend in-person daily if they are not capable of using remote learning. the province allocated $309 million in funding to cover the costs of additional cleaning supplies, protective equipment, and staffing. the plan faced criticism from parents, educators, and health care professionals, noting that some schools had insufficient ventilation and that there was no reduction in elementary school class sizes—with only one metre of distancing specified between desks. lecce stated that the distance of desks was in conjunction with the use of masks. the hashtag "#unsafeseptember" was used on twitter to publicize concerns regarding the back-to-school plan. a poll conducted by maru/blue in mid-august suggested 38 percent of parents surveyed were not going to send their children back to school, and a majority believed they stood with teachers and that there should be a staggered start to the school year. on august 26, details were issued regarding how positive cases will be handled. in the event of a positive case, the entire cohort will be dismissed and required to self-isolate for 14 days. students may return to class if they have not developed symptoms during the 14-day period. however, they will not be required to receive a test. schools may be shut down entirely if the local health unit determines that "potential widespread transmission" is occurring. the same day, the federal government announced a $2 billion funding toward schools in canada, of which ontario will receive $763 million with the first tranche of $381 million arriving in the fall. the toronto district school board, canada's largest, debated and later decided to delay the reopening of schools until september 15, one week later than the initial september 8 date. a survey by the board suggested 70 percent of students would be returning to in class school and 30 percent of students would be opting for learning from home. on september 8, schools opened for many parts of the province, using preventive measures such as masks, physical distancing in classrooms, and remote learning. teachers in a mississauga catholic school were reported as briefly refusing to work until proper personal protective equipment was provided. on september 11, the ontario government released a website to track covid-19 infections in public schools and daycares. by the end of the second week of school reopening, the government has reported 72 cases of covid-19 in 60 schools and one school closure in pembroke in renfrew county in eastern ontario. the last day of class for public schools in 2020 was december 18, the province closed the fall semester with 7,292 cases reported in public schools. before the winter break, there more than 20 schools closed in addition to all public schools in the windsor-essex region. winter/spring 2021 semester due to a province-wide shutdown, all public schools in the northern half of the province were closed to in-person classes until at least january 11, 2021, and the southern half of the province until at least january 25, 2021. some schools in the north voluntarily remained closed as a precaution. on january 12, the return to in-person classes in hamilton, peel, toronto, windsor-essex, and york was delayed to february 10, 2021, as they were still considered hotspots. on january 20, it was announced that only seven school boards would resume on january 25. on february 3, it was announced that most remaining schools outside of peel, toronto, and york would return to in-person class on february 8. in-person classes in peel, toronto, and york would return on february 16 after the family day holiday. on february 11, it was announced that march break would be delayed to the week of april 12 ("april break") in order to prevent community transmission via non-essential travel and gatherings. amid the second shutdown and the third wave, the provincial government stated that it was its "firm belief" that in-person classes needed to continue, as they were "critical to student mental health", and that "due to our strong infection prevention measures, 99 per cent of students and staff have no active cases of covid-19, however we must remain vigilant and keep our guard up in order to keep schools safe and open." however, on april 5, peel medical officer of health lawrence loh announced the closure of all schools in peel region for at least two weeks beginning april 6 (dates including april break), in an order issued pursuant to section 22 of the health protection and promotion act. later that day, wellington-dufferin-guelph public health announced that the medical officer of health nicola mercer would issue a similar order on april 6. on april 6, toronto medical officer of health eileen de villa also issued a section 22 for the same duration. on april 11, minister of education stephen lecce stated in a letter to parents that most schools in ontario would continue in-person classes after april break, despite the new stay-at-home order. however, lecce backtracked the next day, and premier ford announced that all schools in ontario must close indefinitely. private schools were required to transition to virtual learning by april 15, and public schools transitioned after april break. child care will remain available for non-school aged children and the school-aged children of essential workers. on june 2, premier ford announced that all schools would remain closed through the end of the semester, but that he would allow in-person outdoor graduation ceremonies in all grades. in particular, premier ford cited safety concerns surrounding variants of sars-cov-2 as reasoning, stating that "it was a hard choice to make, but i will not, and i repeat, i will not take unnecessary risks with our children right now." vaccines main article: covid-19 vaccination in ontario covid-19 vaccination in ontario began in december 2020, when the first doses of the pfizer vaccine were administered. in february 2021, shipments for both the pfizer and moderna vaccines increased significantly. by may 2021, over 50 percent of ontarians had received their first dose. hospitals throughout the pandemic, a concern about hospital capacity, and critical care like intensive care unit beds has become a major issue at the peak of the three waves. during the third wave, icu capacity has reached near critical capacity. covid-19 in ontario hospitalizations#ref number of patients currently hospitalized with covid-19808 total patients in icu due to covid-19140 total patients in icu on a ventilator due to covid-1962 number of funded adult icu beds in ontario2,343 number of funded paediatric icu beds in ontario105 percentage of provincial icu beds occupied by covid-19 patients5.98% data as of may 30, 2022 long-term care homes