More and more kids are heading back to school in Toronto and beyond this week for IRL classes, despite warnings from critics (and even scientists) suggesting they won't be safe.

As of 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, Ontario's Ministry of Health is reporting 62 active cases of COVID-19 among staff and students at publicly-funded schools.

This marks an increase of 21 cases — just over 52 per cent — from the day previous when only 41 cases had been recorded at elementary and high schools across the province.

More than half of all confirmed cases have been linked to schools in the GTA.

Local schools with at least one confirmed student, staff or "unidentified" case as of this morning are:

• École Ronald-Marion (Pickering)
• St. Joseph Secondary School (Mississauga)
• St. Raphael Elementary School (Mississauga)
• St. Valentine Elementary School (Mississauga)
• Mapleridge Public School (Pickering)
• St. Marguerite d’Youville Catholic Elementary School (Oakville)
• Oodeenawi Public School (Oakville)
• Briarwood Public School (Mississauga)
• Eden Rose Public School (Brampton)
• Ingleborough Public School (Brampton)
• John Fraser Secondary School (Mississauga)
• Louise Arbour Secondary School (Brampton)
• Mountain Ash Public School (Brampton)
• Peel District School Board North Field Office (Brampton)
• Robert J. Lee Public School (Brampton)
• Ross Drive Public School (Brampton)
• Ruth Thompson Middle School (Mississauga)
• The Valleys Senior Public School (Mississauga)
• Tribune Drive Public School (Brampton)
• William Parkway Public School (Brampton)
• Bloordale Middle School (Toronto)
• Brookhaven Public School (Toronto)
• Charles G Fraser Junior Public School (Toronto)
• Don Mills Middle School (Toronto)
• Earl Haig Secondary School (Toronto)
• School for Experiential Education (Toronto)
• York Mills Collegiate Institute (Toronto)
• Blue Willow Public School (Woodbridge)
• Dr. Roberta Bondar Public School (Maple)
• Little Rouge Public School (Markham)
• Sir Wilfrid Laurier Public School (Markham)

Elementary school classes began on Tuesday of this week in Toronto, while high schoolers who opted for in-person learning went back to class today.

Things haven't exactly been smooth across the board: The Toronto District School Board's COVID-19 screening app, which students are required to complete daily before coming to school, went down briefly this morning due to "technical issues."

Parents and teachers alike are understandably nervous about the situation as new cases of the coronavirus surge again after falling below the 100 mark in July. 

Premier Doug Ford maintains that Ontario's back-to-school plan is among the best in the country, despite some opposition, but has said the province won't hesitate to close schools right back down should an outbreak be detected.

Ontario's Ministry of Health recently launched a school and childcare centre-specific coronavirus tracking website to provide "a summary of COVID-19 activity in publicly-funded Ontario schools" for those who want to watch this all play out through daily updates.