Windsor-Essex's English Catholic school board has announced more students are being sent home due to confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The board announced Friday afternoon that 37 students from two cohorts were dismissed from St. Joseph's Catholic High School in east Windsor. Twenty additional students from one group were also sent home from St. John de Brebeuf Elementary School in Kingsville.
Later Friday evening, St. Pius X Elementary School in Tecumseh was added to the list, with a single cohort of 27 students dismissed. Then came 39 students from two cohorts at Cardinal Carter Catholic Secondary School in Leamington.
There was a total of 123 students involved as of 9 p.m. Friday night. Board spokesman Stephen Fields said one confirmed student case of COVID-19 was reported at each school.
"We learned of the confirmed [cases] this afternoon and have notified the affected students that they are not to attend school Monday," said Fields in an email to BlackburnNewsWindsor.com. "We have been working with the Health Unit by providing lists of students and staff who may have been directly affected. The health unit is contacting any individuals, both students and staff, who may have been affected, and will give directions for them to follow."
Both schools will be open Monday as usual.
Parents are still being advised to monitor their children for symptoms each morning. If they feel ill, parents should keep them home and contact their health care provider for further instructions.
A fifth Catholic school, Stella Maris Elementary in Amherstburg, sent a group home earlier this week after a case was confirmed there.
As of Friday evening, a total of seven Windsor-Essex schools have had to send students home. The remaining two are Queen Victoria and Bellewood Public Schools in the English public board.
