WECHU 'reluctant' to recommend school closures after winter break

Windsor, Ont. -

The fate of in-person learning after the winter break is unknown, but acting medical officer of health for Windsor-Essex says he hopes students can remain in school.

Dr. Shanker Nesathurai says the general goal is to try to reduce human-to-human interaction to slow the spread of COVID-19 and there are other ways besides shutting down schools.

“We would be reluctant to recommend school closures, and would recommend other actions before we got to that point,” says Nesathurai.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit issued a Letter of Instruction that took effect on Dec. 10 to reduce transmission in other sectors, including restaurants and workplaces.

“The number one approach is to reduce the case counts in the community and if we can keep the case counts under control and improve vaccination rates that will only favour the approach of keeping schools open,” says Nesathurai.

The region has the third highest COVID case rate in Ontario at 114 cases per 100,000 population.

“If at some point and time there has to be a change in format in education, I know my colleagues at the school board will do everything they can to provide the best possible instruction, no matter what the format might be,” he adds.

Windsor-Essex schools switched to online learning a week before the holiday break last year. Schools remained closed to in-person learning until Feb. 8, 2021. During that time, the region reached a peak case rate of 360 per 100,000.

The provincial government usually decides if schools remain open or closed, however local health units have the authority to issue a special order to close schools if determined necessary for that region.