Pembroke high school closed by COVID-19 outbreak to reopen Monday

Classes will resume Monday at the first school in Ontario to close due toa COVID-19 outbreak.

The Renfrew County and District Health Unit said in a news release Friday that Fellowes High School in Pembroke, Ont.,will reopen because it's been two weeks since someone with COVID-19 was inside the building.

"A prompt school closure followed by aggressive contact tracing and testing as well as strict compliance with public health directives have successfully contained the outbreak," the health unit announced.

The school was closed Sept. 16 when it became clear to officials that a staff member's confirmed case was linked to two other cases among staff.

Nine people with ties to the school eventually tested positive for COVID-19.

The health unit's acting medical officer of health said a staff member who mistakenly thought they were experiencing allergy symptomsand entered the school contributed to the outbreak.

Fifty-one people in the region west of Ottawa have so far tested positive for COVID-19, 18 of them this month.