More English Catholic schools in Windsor-Essex have sent classes home due to positive COVID-19 cases.
The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board has been directed by the local health unit to dismiss three cohorts from St. Anne Catholic High School in Lakeshore. A second case of the virus was confirmed in the school community. This case was part of a cohort that had been dismissed from St. Anne on Monday.
Later Thursday evening, the board announced one cohort at St. Angela Catholic Elementary School in Windsor was also dismissed due to a single case of COVID-19 there.
The classes dismissed Thursday have been directed not to return to school on Friday. They will be notified by the health unit when they can return.
A total of five classes were sent home from St. Anne as of Thursday evening. For the rest of the student body, in-person learning will continue Friday as usual.
"We have advised parents to continue to monitor their children for symptoms of COVID-19 each morning and to keep them at home, and call their healthcare provider for further direction if they are ill, or still waiting for results of a COVID-19 test," said board spokesman Stephen Fields. "We want to assure parents that we are cooperating with the health unit and doing everything we can to make sure that we continue to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for their children."
The latest dismissals have brought the total number of positive student cases in the WECDSB to 16, plus one staff member. St. Joseph's Catholic High School in Windsor, which has three active student cases and the lone staff case, is the only building that has been closed by the health unit.
Meanwhile, at the Greater Essex County District School Board, there are ten active student cases of COVID-19. No new cases were reported Thursday.
At Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence, the French Catholic board, there are two active cases at Monseigneur Augustin Caron Elementary School in LaSalle.
At the French public board, Conseil Scolaire Viamonde, there are no active cases at its Windsor-Essex schools.