WINDSOR, ONT. -- Following the direction of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, 22 students were dismissed from St. Joseph's Catholic High School Monday due to a high risk exposure to COVID-19.

The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Boards says they have been working with the health unit by providing lists of students and staff who may have been directly affected.

“The health unit is contacting any individuals, both students and staff, who may have been affected, and will give directions for them to follow,” said WECDSB spokesperson Stephen Fields.

A voice message and letters to the entire school community were sent home Monday afternoon to reassure parents that if they have not been contacted by the health unit, they have not been identified as close contacts and their children may continue attending school as usual.

The board has 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.