Toronto's top doctor says that while there is ‘no perfect answer' in a pandemic, the city has a slew of safety measures in place that should allow kids to return to class safely.

“When it comes to the question of opening schools, I am of the belief there is no perfect answer or solution during a pandemic,” Dr. Eileen de Villa said. “To reopen, there can only be the rigorous application of best practices.”

The comments from Toronto’s medical officer of health came shortly after provincial officials announced that schools in Toronto, Peel Region, and York Region will reopen to in-person learning on Feb. 16, while all other schools in the province will reopen on Monday.

She pointed out that when schools were first shut down for an extended period in the spring last year, very little was known about COVID-19.

“Over the past year, the body of knowledge has expanded,” she said. “On this continent, we learned a lot over the course of last fall about opening and operating schools in a pandemic.”

De Villa said Toronto Public Health’s School Response Team has grown to include almost 200 staff members and that daily screenings ensure that anyone with even a mild symptom has to stay home, as do close contacts of confirmed cases.

She said the measures are especially important in light of the fact that more contagious variants of the virus are likely circulating in the community now.

De villa pointed out that recently updated “comprehensive” TPH guidance on school reopening runs 21 pages long and is being updated “regularly.”

The protocols at Toronto schools include mask use by all, active symptom screening, distancing, cohorting, ventilation, cleaning surfaces, and hand hygiene. Masking is also now required outdoors where physical distancing cannot be maintained.

“Awareness and vigilance are high and are key at school and at home,” de Villa said. “I would say the majority of the public health community, and many leading institutions and experts believe schools can return to in-class learning if comprehensive safety protocols are followed.”

She cited advice from Sick Kids Hospital, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Dr. Anthony Fauci which support the idea that schools should be able to reopen safely with proper measures in place. 

However she also said that in order for schools to reopen safely, the rest of the community will have to do its part by following public health measures in order to prevent greater community spread of the virus.

“Reopening schools poses a question to us all. What are we willing to do to support the opening and operations of schools for the children and staff who are inside,” de Villa said.

She said that means kids should go straight to school and back home afterward. Play dates,  playground time and parent chit-chats at drop-off and pickup times should be avoided.

When asked whether there is a "red line" at which she would order a school to shut down after reopening, de Villa said she will examine the particular details in each situation.

“I don't know that there is a singular specific level that one can point to in respect of how we would make our decisions,” she said. “The decisions that we've taken in respect of schools have always been premised on what conditions we're actually seeing.”

In a letter sent out to parents Wednesday, the Toronto District school Board said it would be sharing further details about updated safety measures in the coming days.

Ryan Bird, a spokesperson for the Toronto District School Board, said the board is ready and is looking forward to welcoming back students.

"We'll be working closely with Toronto Public Health on exactly what that will (return to school) will look like," Bird said in an interview with CP24.

"There will be some changes. We'll make sure that we send home more information to parents and staff next week."