The Westwood High School, which was ordered closed by the Trelawny Health Department two weeks ago following an outbreak of gastroenteritis at the institution, is likely to reopen next Monday.

According to Eileen Piggott, principal of the prestigious all-girls school, the school has complied with the order by health officials to discard the contaminated water that was the source of the outbreak; clean their tanks and refill them before welcoming back its 756 students,

“We have finished washing out our tanks,” Mrs Piggott told the Observer West yesterday. She said, however, that the school has not been receiving an adequate water supply through the National Water Commission (NWC) source and so have not been able to welcome back their students. “Its unlikely we will open before Sunday,” she added.

The school has some 370 student boarders.

A chronic water shortage forced Westwood to buy water from a private supplier two weeks ago. This water, which was subsequently found to be contaminated, resulted in 21 persons from the institution being stricken with gastroenteritis.

Health officials advised the school last week that it could reopen as soon as it got rid of the contaminated water which was linked to the outbreak. The school said they had been visited throughout this week and all of last week by health officials.

The situation came to light on September 16 after four persons were treated for gastroenteritis. By the next day, some 21 persons had reported ill and investigations by health officials linked the gastroenteritis outbreak to water supplied to the school.

The National Water Commission (NWC) was quick then to inform the public that its water source to the school was not the source of the contamination. It said its source at Barnstaple was tested and had come up clean.