Pam Wright/Local Journalism Initiative

Voluntary asymptomatic COVID-19 testing for students in Chatham-Kent will soon be available.
The Lambton Kent District School Board and the St. Clair Catholic District School Board are partnering in the effort which was announced by the province when students returned to class in February. Testing is expected to begin Friday.
The Ministry of Education plans to conduct the testing in five per cent of the province’s schools each week with up to 50,000 staff and students getting a test.
It’s hoped the testing will help in determining who may be carrying the virus by adding an ‘extra layer of protection.’
It will identify cases that may have otherwise gone undetected and reduce the transmission of COVID-19 between schools and the community.
Officials in Lambton-Kent have chosen CLASS Shared Services — the company that oversees transportation for both boards — to coordinate the provincial directive.
Public school board director John Howitt says the plan is just at the beginning stage.
“This is not a school board initiative and it might happen outside of school,” Howitt told a municipal press conference last week.
He says the current early plan is to test three schools a week.
Howitt stresses the tests are “not mandatory” and that permission must be obtained from parents.

• The Herald