Here's What Both Vaccinated & Unvaccinated Students Can Expect When Returning To School

Ontario's back-to-school plan was released on Tuesday and it was revealed that all students, regardless of their vaccination status, will be following the same rules.

The plan announced that those in elementary schools in Ontario will return to indoor learning five days a week this fall, while also continuing to offer remote learning.

Students will be able to participate in clubs, field trips, sports and more as the province continues to try and make a return to more normal learning.

However, indoor masking and other guidelines will remain in place.

Classroom rules will stay the same for all students

Day-to-day school life won't look different whether you're vaccinated or unvaccinated; in fact, teachers won't even be aware of their student's immune status.

According to Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, this will be done to prevent the "stigmatization of children who have not received a vaccine in any way in normal activities throughout the school year."

Both types of students will be required to self-screen before attending school every day and students from grades one to 12 will be required to wear masks regardless of immunization.

It's also worth noting that those attending classroom learning won't be required to be vaccinated now or in the future.

"I do not anticipate a different approach, whether a child is vaccinated or unvaccinated on any activities within the school setting," Moore told reporters on Wednesday.

Unvaccinated students may have to follow different rules when it comes to outbreaks

Despite the government's effort to not isolate students who have not received a vaccine, there are still contingencies in place to handle outbreaks.

Moore announced last week that students and staff who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 will have to wait longer to return to in-person learning following an outbreak.

"If you are not immunized and you've been in contact with the high-risk contact, you'll be off for a minimum of 10 days and you will have to get two tests, one initially and then another around day seven," Moore said.

Meanwhile, students who are "two-dose vaccinated plus 14 days" will be offered a single test, which, if negative, grants them the ability to return to an indoor classroom setting faster.

"If you test negative, you can go right back to school, you can go right back to work," Moore added.