168 asymptomatic COVID-19 tests completed for students, staff as new round of school testing begins

The four school boards in the Windsor Essex County area announced anew round ofasymptomatic COVID-19 testing will be held in Leamington for students attending class in-person, staff and children.

According to the province's online database, 168 tests have been completedduring previous testing that was done in 11 schools in theWindsor-Essex Catholic District School Board (WECDSB). No positive cases were identified.

Now staff and students at nineschools in and around the N8Hpostal code can beswabbed for the virus starting Saturday morning. Children who attend daycare at those schools arealso eligible.

The testing will take place atLeamington District Secondary School.

The following schools are invited to take part:

• Leamington District Secondary School
• Queen Elizabeth Public School
• Mt. Carmel-Blytheswood Public School
• M.D. Bennie Public School
• Gore Hill Public School
• Cardinal Carter Catholic Middle and High School
• St. Louis Catholic School
• cole lmentaire catholique St-Michel
• cole secondaire catholique l'Essor students from Leamington

The testing will start with school staff, then proceedby last name to avoid lineups, starting with"A" between 9:30 and 10 a.m. and continuing by letter each half hour until "W, X, Y or Z" at2:30 - 3 p.m.

Parents or guardians will need to continue to give consent for students under the age of 18.

The province had mandated thatschool boards begin testing on February 22, but boards in Windsor-Essex only began on March 13.

Aspokesperson forWECDSB cited the delay wasdue to complications caused by coordinating the testing plans with the local health unit and all four school boards.

A memo released in February byEducation Minister Stephen Lecce calls for testing at fiveper centof schools weekly for most boards.