The Windsor Essex County Health Unit is recommending all students and staff from F. W. Begley Public School be tested for COVID-19 after three staff members tested positive.
The health unit declared an outbreak and closed the school Tuesday evening.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed indicated that because their investigation could not identify the index case or where exactly the transmission took place, they decided to close the entire school to break the chain of transmission.
"If we go with everything happened correctly, then there shouldn't be any high-risk transmission happening," said Dr. Ahmed. "But not knowing where it happened, how it happened, it would be very difficult to say one particular grade is impacted more than the other."
Windsor Regional Hospital has opened an assessment centre at its Met campus for Begley Public School students and staff to be tested. Appointments are not required at this location. It will be open Wednesday from noon until 7 p.m. and on Thursday and Friday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
The health unit is recommending all staff and students be tested.
"The children will be deemed high-risk contacts, that's why they are asked to isolate and to self monitor their symptoms. But parents or any other caregiver is a contact of a contact and they are not at risk," said CEO and Chief Nursing Officer Theresa Marentette.
The school will be closed for at least 14 days, however, the closure could be extended if additional cases are identified among the school community.
On Wednesday, the health unit reported 19 new cases of COVID-19 in the region. Among the new cases are eight close contacts of previously confirmed cases, one health care worker and one community-acquired case. There are nine cases still under investigation.
There are 189 active cases of COVID-19 in the community and 13 people in the hospital receiving treatment for the virus.
