Sutcliffe says she’s in favour of local schools reopening

Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, the medical officer of health for the region, has written an open letter to Premier Doug Ford saying she supports a return to in-person schooling in the province.

Public Health Sudbury & Districts shared the letter on its Facebook page today.

In the letter, Sutcliffe reflected on the situation in the region as of March 15***, when she made the decision to shut down schools in the region.

“I did this after careful consideration of our local COVID-19 epidemiology, public health and health care system capacity and consultations with area Directors of Education,” Sutcliffe wrote. “The decision was a difficult but obvious one: we no longer had the capacity to maintain in-person learning and the health risks outweighed the many benefits of learning face to face.”

The situation the region finds itself in today is very much different, the region’s top doctor continued.

“Our area is in a vastly different situation now with COVID-19 seven-day case incidence rates of under 10 per 100,000, public health system and hospital capacity much improved, and a vaccination rate that is on track with provincial goals,” Sutcliffe wrote.

In saying that, she said she echoes the Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health and the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in supporting a return to in-person learning.

“Public Health Sudbury & Districts is prepared to support schools to transition as quickly as possible to in-person learning and to lead effective case and contact management should COVID-19 cases emerge in our schools in the month of June.”

You can read the full text of the letter below.

Dear Premier Ford:

Re: Return to in-person learning in Ontario – Premier’s consultation

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the question of a return to in-person learning in Ontario.

As the local Medical Officer of Health for Public Health Sudbury & Districts, I am most qualified to comment on the region I serve.

Locally, I issued a letter of instruction under the Reopening Ontario Act, requiring area schools to transition to remote learning effective March 15, 2021. I did this after careful consideration of our local COVID-19 epidemiology, public health and health care system capacity and consultations with area Directors of Education.

The decision was a difficult but obvious one: we no longer had the capacity to maintain in-person learning and the health risks outweighed the many benefits of learning face to face.

Our area is in a vastly different situation now with COVID-19 seven-day case incidence rates of under 10 per 100,000, public health system and hospital capacity much improved, and a vaccination rate that is on track with provincial goals.

I fully support a return to in-person learning and the comments and conclusions of the May 20, 2021 letter to you from the Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health and the Hospital for Sick Children.

Public Health Sudbury & Districts is prepared to support schools to transition as quickly as possible to in-person learning and to lead effective case and contact management should COVID-19 cases emerge in our schools in the month of June.

Thank you again for this opportunity and for the tireless hours you and your team are dedicating to the health and wellness of all Ontarians.

Sincerely,
Dr. Penny Sutcliffe
Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer

***Correction - An earlier version of this story said Dr. Penny Sutcliffe was comparing the COVID situation today to that of March 2020. She was actually referring to the situation in March 2021. We apologize for the error.