No rollout plan yet for take-home COVID-19 tests in Windsor-Essex schools
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is aware of a provincial plan to provide take-home COVID-19 test in schools, but has not yet created a local rollout plan.
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said Thursday take-home COVID-19 tests will be available at all public schools across the province starting in a few weeks.
Health unit CEO Nicole Dupuis said it’s too soon so comment on the operationalization given it came out late last week.
“We haven’t really reviewed that announcement in our context here in Windsor-Essex,” said Dupuis. “It does require some discussion and review with our school boards.”
The PCR tests have been available in schools in Toronto and Ottawa, and some other communities in a similar pilot project, but Lecce says now all students in public schools will have access, including Windsor-Essex.
If a student develops a COVID-19 symptom or is identified as a close contact of a positive case, they can pick up a test at their school, do it at home.
The government says it's aimed at alleviating some of the inconvenience in the testing process, eliminating the need for students and staff to book an appointment at an assessment centre to get tested.
Acting medical officer of health Dr. Shanker Nesathurai said they like to keep every option open and there may be a role for testing in the correct circumstances. They continue to evaluate the situation.
“There are generally very limited circumstances were one would test a group of asymptomatic people. We don’t really know the context just yet of the testing guidance and testing recommendations,” he said.
He added they would only offer testing when they think that the risks versus the benefits supports the testing program.
Nesathurai said the real goal is not testing, but to keep schools open.
Over 350 class and bus cohorts have been dismissed in Windsor-Essex schools since September, which is more than all of last year. However, the number of outbreaks in schools has decreased from nine last Monday to two this Monday.
With files from The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.