Windsor-Essex reports 7 new COVID-19 cases, 1 additional death

While COVID-19 case counts are on a downward trend in Windsor-Essex, the pandemic continues to claim lives in the community.

On Thursday, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) reported an additional COVID-19 death.

A man in his 60s is the fifth person to die from COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex this week. Since the start of the pandemic, 433 people have died from COVID-19 in the region.

Meanwhile, the public health unit reported a day-over-day increase of seven cases on Thursday, and a new outbreak was declared at the Casa de Dios y Puerta del Cielo church in Windsor.

The active case count has fallen to 132, compared with 266 two weeks ago. Fifteen people with COVID-19 are currently being treated in hospital. 

Vaccination coverage in the community is rising daily, with 263,011 people having received at least one shot as of Thursday's update.

Currently, anyone 12 and up is eligible to book their first dose, and the following groups are eligible to book an appointment for a second dose:

• Those who are 70 and older or turning 70 this year who had their first dose more than 28 days ago.
• Those vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines on or before April 18.
• Those who received an AstraZeneca shot as their first dose 12 weeks or more ago, and want to choose a different vaccine for their second shot.
• Those who received the AstraZeneca vaccine at least 12 weeks ago and want a second dose of that product (pharmacies or primary care clinics only.)
• Some high risk health-care workers, people with some health conditions, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people and retirement home residents. Full details are available on the WECHU website.

Six outbreaks are ongoing, including the newly declared church outbreak and one at the Southwest Detention Centre that has been active since late April.

The remaining outbreaks are occurring in workplaces — two in Windsor's health-care and social assistance sector and two in Tecumseh's manufacturing sector.

Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton

On Thursday, Chatham-Kent Public Health reported one additional COVID-19 death, bringing the region's total to 17. There was one new case announced Thursday, and 14 cases remain active.

In Sarnia-Lambton, the active case count stood at 30 as of Thursday. Four new cases were reported Wednesday but the area has no active COVID-19 outbreaks.