Ontario is joining the majority of Canada’s provinces to delay the return to school due to rising COVID-19 cases. Students in Ontario will return to classroom learning on Jan. 5, 2022, which will give schools extra time to put in place additional health and safety measures, including implementing additional masking options for students and educators and further improving air ventilation in schools, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore said in a press conference on Thursday. “I and colleagues from across Ontario have always maintained that schools should be the last to close and the first to open. It is critical to the positive mental health and academic success of our children,” Moore said. When asked why Ontario’s postponement period is two days while the other provinces that also decided to delay the return to school are opting for one week, Moore said the province has preemptively distributed 11 million rapid tests for schools to ensure students who test positive …