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Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s comment on Thursday that families should go ahead and travel during March break has been overtaken by events as Canada grapples with the novel coronavirus.

At a press conference Thursday morning, Ford said the situation could change, but at the time he urged families to enjoy themselves as schools close for March breaks.

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However, by Friday morning Canada’s public health authorities had asked Canadians to cancel all non-essential travel outside the country, and for anyone returning from abroad to self-isolate.

On Thursday, Ontario announced that schools would remain closed for two weeks after the March break, which starts March 16.

One of the reasons for school closures, said Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, was concern over the likelihood of many children travelling over March break, and the fact that two of the new COVID-19 cases Ontario announced Thursday were in people under the age of 18. One is a baby.