COVID-19 outbreak declared at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School, entire school community dismissed
St. Joseph’s Catholic High School will be closed until further notice as of Wednesday due to a COVID-19 outbreak declared by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
According to WECHU, there are currently five confirmed cases of the virus at the school with the most recent exposure date of Sept. 9. The entire school community has been dismissed as a precaution and the school will remain closed until further notice.
“Based on the level of spread in our community, it is necessary to excuse students in order to limit the potential for spread in this setting. We are actively working to investigate cases tied to this school and provide guidance to those directly impacted” said Nicole Dupuis, Chief Executive Officer at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
All students, staff and visitors who were in attendance from Tuesday, Sept. 7 to Thursday, Sept. 9 and have not already been identified as a close contact through a previously dismissed cohort have been directed to get tested for the virus.
“It’s frustrating. We were happy that they were getting into a routine again. He does better in school,” says Colleen Watson-Ruckle, who has a son in grade 10.
At times, he receives one on one learning at the school, but that won’t be available when he moves to online learning.
“The kids have had so much damage. They’ve suffered so much from this," Watson-Ruckle said. "Their personality has changed. They’ve lost friends. I just hope they get back to the classroom.”
WECHU says it is working with the school and the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board (WECDSB) administrators to manage the outbreak, limit the spread of infection and ensure health measures are maintained.
“It was concerning, a little bit disappointing that this early in the year we did have to make that transition,” says Stephen Fields, communications coordinator for the WECDSB.
Fields said a team of nurses was at the school Wednesday to help facilitate the process of dismissing students.
“They were told basically told to take whatever belongings that they had with them that would help them facilitate to online learning,” he said.
Fields said a follow up message will be sent to students who weren’t in attendance on Wednesday.
“Letting them know that we are going to make arrangements for devices for students who may not have them,” he said.
The health unit recommends all Windsor-Essex residents follow the following health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19:
- Get vaccinated (for individuals 12 years of age and older)
- Stay home if you are sick
- Maintain a physical distance of 2 metres from others
- Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
- Use a non-medical face mask when physical distancing is not possible
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or use the inside of your elbow when you cough
WECHU says due to privacy concerns, it will not be publicly disclosing any further details about the cases or number of close contacts at the high school, but will address the outbreak during its 9:30 a.m. briefing on Thursday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.