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More than a dozen classes of students were dismissed from school over the weekend after exposures to COVID-19, health officials announced Monday.
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Over the weekend 15 classes of students were dismissed, said Nicole Dupuis, CEO of the Windsor-Essex County health unit, in an update to reporters on Monday. There are currently five schools in outbreak and 65 classes have been dismissed from area schools to date.
Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, interim medical officer of health for the region, said the health unit remains “concerned” about exposures in schools.
“One inadvertent exposure can lead to 10, 20, 30, 40 young people being excluded from school,” he said.
“That’s particularly why we think it’s important for parents, regardless of vaccinated status, if a young person is sick to remain at home and not send them to school.”
On Friday the health unit offered a COVID-19 testing clinic at St. Joesph’s Catholic high school for families after the school was closed last week following several COVID-19 exposures.
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Dupuis said the health unit tested about 300 people at the school that day. Many of the test results are still pending, Dupuis said, given the volume of COVID-19 tests being conducted.
The Windsor-Essex Catholic District school board is reporting 10 active cases of COVID-19 at St. Joseph’s, eight among students and two among staff.
“We know since there were already quite a number of students that were dismissed and directed to test,” she said. “With announcement on Wednesday we suspect many had gone to assessment centres Thursday.”
The number of classes dismissed from schools can be indicative of the risk in the wider community, Nesathurai said,
“The number of dismissals is likely in some way related to the background risk in the community,” Nesathurai said.
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“If there are more people in the community with COVID, it is more likely COVID will make it’s way into schools, and … there is great likelihood of young people being excluded from school.”
In addition to the outbreak reported at St. Jospeh’s Catholic high school, the health unit is reporting outbreaks at St. Anne’s Catholic high school, Sandwich secondary school, Cardinal Carter Catholic secondary school and Al-Hijra Academy.
The Greater Essex County District School Board reported five cases of COVID-19 in schools on Monday. Four of five cases are at Legacy Oak Trail public school, and a fifth case is at Douglas public school. There were two separate cases reported on Sunday.
The Windsor-Essex Catholic District school board is reporting one or two cases each among students at St. Peter Catholic elementary school, Holy Cross Catholic elementary school, Catholic Central high school, W.J. Langlois Catholic elementary school, Assumption College Catholic high school, St. Angela Catholic elementary school, F.J. Brennan Catholic high school, St. Anne Catholic high school and Cardinal Carter Catholic secondary school. In total, 19 classes have been dismissed at these schools. All remain open, except St. Joseph’s.
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The Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence reports one active case and one class in isolation at Georges-P.-Vanier Catholic elementary school.
The health unit is working with school boards to keep students in class, Nesathurai said. Students are required to self-isolate from the date of exposure.
“It’s not just the people that have COVID … but also thepeople who have to self-isolate,” Nesathurai said. “For every person who is infected there are many, many more people who have to self isolate.”
More classes dismissed in Windsor-Essex after COVID-19 exposure - Windsor Star
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