KITCHENER -- A day after the Ontario government announced it would be closing schools as a result of COVID-19, the Waterloo Region District School Board has confirmed it will be closing its childcare centres.
The closures will last from March 14 through April 5.
In a news release on Friday, the school board confirmed that the closures will also include its childcare centres, EarlyON and its before- and after-school programs.
The board says that fees will not be charged for school programs run through the board, but registered third-party operators will be responsible for their own fee-related inquiries.
Parents have had mixed reactions to the news.
"I think it's absolutely crazy, we have five children and trying to keep a job and keep everyone’s appointments in check and having them home for three weeks is going to be very, very rough," said one parent who spoke with CTV News.
On Friday, the Waterloo Catholic District School Board also announced it would be cancelling its extended day programs, as well.
Both the public and catholic boards have released statements about the province wide shut down.
They say they hope to provide more information in the coming days.
Correction:
This is a corrected story. A previous version indicated that the schools would be closed until April 15. In fact, they are set to be closed through April 5.
