COVID-19 outbreak declared at UWindsor residence after four positive cases

A University of Windsor residence is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak after four residents tested positive. 

On Saturday, the University of Windsor said in a news release that the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) declared an outbreak at Alumni Hall.

All residents from Alumni Hall are under "modified quarantine." Students are allowed to access the university's testing sites, asked to avoid close contact with others in residence and the community, limit outside trips to essential reasons and follow all other public health measures.

Wastewater screening from the building tested positive for the disease on Nov. 27, the university said. 

Once the university was aware of this, it said that as a "proactive measure," it encouraged testing of all residents and affected staff. 

The people who have tested positive and their identified close contacts have been relocated, according to the university, and are receiving help from WECHU, Student Services and Residence Services. 

The exposure risk to other staff and students is considered "extremely low," the university said. The first case of the disease was detected on Dec. 1, with three additional cases arising on Friday.

This outbreak comes the same weekend WECHU has also announced that tighter COVID-19 measures will come into effect for the region at the end of the week, including limits to gatherings and restrictions on restaurant and bar capacities. 

These new measures are in response to increasing COVID-19 case counts in Windsor-Essex.