While many of the restrictions we have experienced over the last two years of the pandemic have been lifted, the WECDSB still takes the risk of COVID-19 very seriously and will continue to follow expert advice from senior levels of government and our colleagues at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit out of concern for the health and safety of our staff, students, their families and our community.

On the advice of the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, for the 2022-23 school year, most health and safety requirements remain unchanged from the previous direction provided to school board partners at the end of the 2021-22 school year.

This means that:

• Masks will not be required for students, staff and visitors in schools, school board offices, or on student transportation. However, we will continue to actively promote inclusive atmospheres that respect individual decisions to choose to wear a mask, or not.
• We will continue to provide free high-quality masks for students and staff and eye protection for staff, if they choose to use them. We have been assured by the Ministry of Education that they will continue to provide school boards with this PPE.
• We will continue to have access to rapid antigen tests to be used in accordance with provincial testing guidance.
• We will continue recommending that staff, students and visitors self-screen every day before attending school using the COVID-19 school and child care screening tool. Following public health guidance, we will encourage those individuals who are feeling ill to stay at home to prevent the spread of illness.
• We will continue to promote appropriate hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. The provincial government has assured us that hand sanitizer will continue to be provided to school boards.
• We will continue to optimize air quality in schools through ventilation and filtration. A complete report on our school board ventilation profile can be found here.
• We will continue to monitor absence rates and collaborate closely with the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit to support student and staff well-being and health and safety in schools. Should the absence rate in a school increase above what a school would typically experience, and absences are not perceived to be linked to other factors (e.g., holidays), school principals notify their local public health unit. Health units will review absence data and may provide school boards with additional guidance and support.