All Essex County municipalities have declared a state of emergency following the decision made by Essex County on Sunday.
After the County of Essex made the declaration Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville, Lakeshore, LaSalle, Leamington, and Tecumseh followed suit.
“The decision to declare a State of Emergency was not made lightly,” said Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald in a statement. “We are in the early stages of this pandemic and based on the evidence we have seen from a global standpoint, we believe the time to call the emergency is now. It ensures we are as nimble as possible during these fast moving times in order to keep our community safe.”
MacDonald and her colleagues say they are following the advice of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit when it comes to proper hygiene, and social distancing measures.
"Stay home as much as possible. Wash your hands often. Sanitize surfaces. Remain calm and be safe,” she added.
The declaration gives municipalities another tool to respond to the ever-changing environment in a quick way.
“It is important to remain calm and to know that across all levels of government, we are doing all we can to protect residents, but we need you to consider the seriousness of the situation. If you have been away, you need to self-isolate. Stay home, stay safe and stay informed,” said Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos. “This declaration reinforces our commitment to working collaboratively with all of our partnering municipalities, government officials, first responder agencies and healthcare organizations to ensure we are as best prepared as possible to respond to the needs of our residents.”
As of Sunday, there were two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex. Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Wajid Ahmed told reporters earlier in the week there was not yet evidence of community transmission of the virus.
-With files from Adelle Loiselle and Maureen Revait.