PROTECTING STUDENTS
College ready for influx
Staff and students of F. W. Begley Public School were turned away from the building and told to self-isolate at home Wednesday morning following the declaration of a COVID-19 outbreak there the night before.
The Windsor-essex County Health Unit reported three staff members had contracted the disease and were infectious while at school on Nov. 12 — but investigators have been unable to determine who brought the disease to the school in the first place or at what moments transmission occurred inside.
Those unknowns, and the fact that the staff — who may or may not be teachers — moved to different places inside the school, led the health unit to declare an outbreak.
“We felt it was necessary to err on the side of caution to protect all of our children and dismiss the entire school to break the chain of transmission,” said medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed.
The entire school population is considered at high-risk of exposure to COVID-19 and must self-isolate and monitor themselves for symptoms for two weeks.
All parents and guardians will receive letters containing notice of the outbreak and instructions specific to self-isolating children, monitoring them for symptoms and seeking testing. The letter is being translated into several languages to ensure all members of the school's diverse community understand the health unit's instructions, Ahmed said.
The health unit is working closely with the Greater Essex County District School Board to manage the outbreak, further limit the spread of infection and make sure public health measures continue to be implemented, he said. Outbreak management is part of the school board's pandemic plan, which was created with guidance from the WECHU.
Since staff and students are considered high-risk close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases, they must self-isolate, preferably in a separate room from other members of their households, said health unit CEO Theresa Marentette. However, since even healthy children require a level of in-person care, they are being asked to stay distant from others as much as possible and avoid sharing things like cups and utensils. If they must share a bathroom with others, the bathroom should be cleaned between uses.
“It is essential for all staff and students to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms every day,” Ahmed said, urging anyone involved to seek testing, especially if they develop even mild symptoms.
Windsor Regional Hospital has opened a COVID-19 assessment centre at Met Campus for Begley school staff and students, who can walk in without pre-booking an appointment and receive a test. Located in the emergency department parking lot, the assessment centre was open to the school community Wednesday from noon until 7 p.m., and will be open again Thursday and Friday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Those who live with Begley staff or students are not required to self-isolate or monitor themselves for symptoms because they are considered contacts of contacts of a COVID-19 case, Marentette said. Although the self-isolation period is 14 days, the outbreak and school closure could extend beyond two weeks if anyone else tests positive.
“It really will be based on any further transmission, and any of the high-risk contacts becoming actual cases,” she said.
It's possible a fourth person who had very mild symptoms and ignored them brought COVID-19 into the school first, Ahmed said. At this point, the investigation by public health staff has not revealed such a person, but mass testing might.
Ahmed would not say whether or not any of the three staff members were symptomatic while at school, but said they were infectious. That means they could have developed symptoms up to 48 hours after attending the school and still have spread the virus.
On Wednesday, the local health unit reported 19 additional cases of COVID-19 in the community. Eight are close contacts of people who previously tested positive, one is a local health-care worker, and one contracted the virus through community spread. Nine cases are still under investigation by public health unit staff.
The number of local residents hospitalized with COVID-19 has again increased, this time to 13. Four of those individuals are in the intensive care unit.
There are 189 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
The health unit continues to monitor outbreaks at an agricultural facility in Leamington, a University of Windsor residence building and three long-term care and retirement homes.
The University of Windsor also reported one additional case of COVID-19 among a member of its campus community. That individual is now self-isolating.
No additional deaths were reported Wednesday. To date, 77 people in Windsor-essex have died from complications brought on by COVID-19, including a man in his 90s who lived in long-term care and whose death was reported on Tuesday. He was the first local person to die from COVID-19 since Sept. 10.