A local Catholic secondary school that became a face of the COVID-19 pandemic will soon resume in-person learning.
The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board announced Tuesday afternoon that St. Joseph's Catholic High School in east Windsor will reopen for classes on Thursday. Staff should report to the building Wednesday morning to prepare for the reopening.
Board spokesman Stephen Fields said the reopening takes place after extensive discussion with the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
"The school has been inspected by the health unit, we have reviewed and completed our COVID-19 preparedness checklist, and have been approved to reopen," said Fields.
Students who had confirmed cases of COVID-19 are cleared by the health unit to return to school after completing the required isolation. The same applies to any isolated students who were identified as high-risk contacts.
However, any student identified as a high-risk contact and have been told by the health unit to keep isolating later than Thursday is being directed to keep following those instructions and learn from home until cleared to go back to school.
St. Joseph's was the only school in Windsor-Essex to be ordered closed by the health unit due to a COVID-19 outbreak. All other schools in the region with confirmed cases have been allowed to stay open.
All students are expected to continue self-screening for COVID-19 every morning before going to school. If your child has symptoms, keep them home, get a COVID-19 test, and await further instructions.
The health unit will host a vaccination clinic at St. Joseph's on Friday for anyone 12 and older who need a vaccine. More details will follow.