George Brown College (GBC) says its current operations will largely not be affected by the Ontario government’s newly-declared state of emergency, as in-person classes are expected to continue.

The provincially-mandated restrictions were announced on Tuesday and went into effect on Thursday.

In a message to students, GBC president Anne Sado wrote, “I am writing to confirm that limited on-campus learning will continue at George Brown, as scheduled.”

The 28-day state of emergency asks people to stay home and only leave for essential activities such as school, work, or medical appointments. Under the new restrictions, individuals can be fined up to $100,000 for not following protocols.

“According to those [state of emergency] directives, it’s still safe for us to continue offering courses on campus in the ways that we have because when people are on campus they are on campus within some very structured parameters,” says Chris McGrath, vice president of Student Success at GBC.

The Ontario government’s COVID-19 website says that under the new restrictions “post-secondary schools can stay open for virtual instruction, with limited exceptions where in-person teaching is required.”

McGrath notes that this has changed very little about current operations, but says “perhaps what has changed for people is how we have to think about communicating with our community members outside of those [in person class] times, so students who are not feeling well in any way whatsoever, who have an on-campus component or a placement component, to please stay home and get tested if they have any symptoms.”

Currently, some students in both in-person and online programs are scheduled to attend in-person placement positions later this term. Ensuring the college is working closely with placement hosts is a priority for the college, says McGrath.

“The various academic programs are working very closely with the placement hosts, and there’s a lot of discussion and information sharing about safety and security,” says McGrath.

There were discussions around what pausing or postponing in-person courses would look like but this direction was not chosen due to the potential ramifications.

“We grew concerned about the potential cumulative negative impact on a student’s capacity to finish their program of study and ultimately gain employment and transition into their careers,” says McGrath.

“I think the big message, and it is a bit of a broken record but, if you’re sick stay home. And it doesn’t have to be capital “s” sick. That is more important now than ever.”