For the first time since March 6, there is not a single COVID-19 outbreak in Lambton schools.

But when Spring Break is over this week, kids will be learning online.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the return to online learning as the numbers of COVID-19 cases across the province continue to rise.

“The problem is not in the schools it is in our community,” says Ford. He says bringing kids who have spent a week in the community “is not a risk I’m willing to take.”

John Howitt, director of education for the Lambton Kent District School Board, says it will be a difficult transition. And he says education is better face-to-face.

“We know we’re social animals and that face-to-face is a better style of learning,” Howitt says.

In Lambton, there had been a significant number of cases of COVID-19 in the schools. At one point, two-thirds of the schools in Lambton had at least one case of COVID-19 registered. And there had been an outbreak in at least one school since March 6, when Queen Elizabeth II School in Sarnia was declared in outbreak.

“I think that steep incline that we experience, especially in Lambton County, before the rest of the province, had people really recognize that public health measures were still necessary,” says Howitt. “And people got back to implementing them consistently.”

Howitt says co-operative efforts between educators and public health have “consistently demonstrated” schools are safe.

Howitt says students won’t be right back to the books Monday; officials say there will be a day for teachers and families to prepare for online learning before logging into classes again Tuesday.

And he says the board’s special needs population will go back to their classrooms.

“Some of the students who attend our self contained classes are focusing more on gross motor activity, interaction, that really intensive support is required from an adult to assist them to be successful. So it really is very important that they’re able to attend face-to-face learning,” says Howitt.

The timing of the announcement to return to online learning is unfortunate, Howitt agrees – just one day into Spring Break.

“I am empathetic to our staff who are finding this out on the first day that they’re now expected to be doing something different after the break than maybe they had planned for,” he says.

“The flipside, however, is that our families need the maximum amount of time to prepare.

“There’ll be a lot of employers that need to now make or have flexibility in their plans, as now, some parents will have to work from home. Again, there’ll be some childcare pieces that need to be put in place. “ I think we always need to recognize our students and our families and our understanding of the fact that parents significant, the time as much as possible to prepare, even if that means getting the announcement on the first day of the vacation.”

Howitt adds it is not clear if teachers who are parents will qualify for emergency childcare for essential workers, making the planning even more difficult.

Today in Lambton, another person in their 80s passed away from COVID-19 bringing the death toll from the virus to 54 here. Eight new cases were reported and the number of people actively ill from COVID-19 is down 12 to 115.

In Ontario today, there were 3,670 more cases and 15 more deaths Tuesday. Across the province there are 35,840 ill with COVID-19 today. Over 10 per cent of each COVID tests is positive.