Hamilton public and Catholic school boards preparing for in-person return on Jan. 3

Hamilton's public and Catholic school boards are set to welcome students back into classrooms in the new year next week. 

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board spokesperson Shawn McKillop told CBC Hamilton Tuesday that the plan is to return to in-person learning on Jan. 3, "unless we hear otherwise."

"As you know, there has been no provincial announcement from the Ministry of Education or the Chief Medical Officer of Health to close or move to remote learning after the break," he said.

"We'll be in touch of course if there is a change in school operations."

Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board chair Pat Daly also said the board is expecting students will return to school.

"In-person learning, for sure, is best for students," he said in a phone interview Tuesday.

"We always defer to public health experts ... if they deem that it is safe to do so, we think for sure kids are better off in school."

CBC Hamilton is awaiting a response from local french school boards and the province.

However, at a tour of a workplace vaccination clinic Tuesday in Mississauga, Premier Doug Ford said an announcement on schools would come "in the next couple days." 

"We just want to see how things go and obviously speak to the chief medical officer," he said. 

The news comes as COVID-19's Omicron variant continues to infect Hamiltonians at record rates. Public health reported 402 new cases Tuesday and one new death, though the true number of cases are considered to be vastly underreported right now.

In past waves, schools have been forced to stop in-person learning and move to fully remote learning, sending school boards, families and students into a mass scramble.

The pandemic has also disrupted students' learning and impacted the mental health of both students and educators, with at least one of the latter describing the past school year as "the hardest year of my life."

Hamilton's medical officer of health has previously said keeping schools open is a priority, even as many have grappled with outbreaks.

Of the 35 active outbreaks reported by Hamilton public health on Monday, 13 were in local schools. All but one of them was declared before Dec. 26.

Public health has also been trying to boost vaccination rates among the young.

Public health data shows 83 per cent of Hamiltonians aged 12 to 17 have one dose and 79 per cent have two. Less than one per cent of them have a booster shot.

About 35 per cent of kids ages five to 11 have one dose and less than one per cent have two.

There's also been a stark divide in vaccination rates among schools, with religious schools seeing lower vaccination rates than non-religious schools.