BARRIE, ONT. -- Education Minister Stephen Lecce told school board chairs to encourage staff and students to bring essential learning materials home over the holidays.

In his Tuesday memo, Lecce said that the precaution would help the education system be ready for "all scenarios."

He says the government is eyeing an increase in hospitalizations and ICU admissions from COVID-19.

"The public health environment in Ontario continues to evolve rapidly. The government is continuing to monitor the COVID-19 situation, including recent trends in hospitalizations and intensive care unit patients," Lecce said.

There are seven schools in Simcoe County with active outbreaks as of Thursday, including a new outbreak at St. Mary's Catholic School in Barrie.

There are also active outbreaks at Barrie North Collegiate Institute, St. Joseph's Catholic High School in Barrie, Bear Creek Secondary School in Barrie, Portage View Public School in Barrie, Our Lady of Grace Catholic School in Angus and Bradford District High School.

All schools with active outbreaks remain open at this time.

Tracking COVID-19 cases in local schools

Ontario reported 170 new COVID-19 cases related to schools on Thursday, including at least 143 among students.

Meanwhile, Frances Bagley, director of education with the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic School Board, sent a letter to parents Tuesday indicating the school board was planning for business as usual.

The letter contained a note from Dr. Charles Gardner, chief medical officer of health with the Simcoe Muskoka health unit, that states in part, "The provincial government appears committed to keeping our schools open - full lockdowns in regions, such as Toronto, Peel and Vaughan have not resulted in school closures."

It continues, "We fully anticipate a return to our physical school and board office locations on January 4th, and we certainly hope and pray that case counts remain under control, but we want to be prepared for a worse case scenario."

With just one day before winter break, the school board said it is waiting to hear if things have changed.

Jen Hare, bargaining unit president for the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, said a 'be ready' warning isn't good enough.

"I really feel like this is a disappointing message from the ministry. Allowing us to continue over the Christmas break, not having any idea of what learning looks like in January, is just unacceptable. We need to have a clear message that either we are back in buildings or that we are not."