Staff and students at 14 London-area schools will be swabbed over the next two weeks as voluntary asymptomatic COVID-19 testing begins within the Thames Valley District school board (TVDSB).
The first four schools to conduct testing will be East Elgin Secondary, Davenport Public, McGregor Public, and Summers' Corners in Aylmer next Wednesday. That will be followed by testing next Thursday at Westminster Secondary, Woodland Heights Public, and Kensal Park Public in London.
The week of March 15 will see asymptomatic students and staff tested at Glencoe Secondary, Ekcoe Central Public, and Mosa Central Public in Glencoe and A.B. Lucas Secondary, Cedar Hollow Public, Northridge Public, and Stoneybrook Public in London.
"We are pleased to facilitate testing of students and staff as part of the Ministry of Education’s initiative to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and communities,” TVDSB Director of Education Mark Fisher said in a statement.
The Ministry of Education mandated school boards across the province last month to test two per cent of asymptomatic students and staff at elementary and secondary schools each week.
Consent from parents or guardians is required before a student can receive the test and no one will be tested against their will.
The testing at Thames Valley schools will be done Wednesdays and Thursdays between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. An email with a registration link will be sent to parents of eligible children on Mondays.
Health units have helped the board choose which schools to conduct testing. Children from daycare centres located within selected schools can also be tested.
Additional schools selected for testing will be posted on the board's website.
