Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens on the phone. (Photo courtesy of Drew Dilkens)Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens on the phone. (Photo courtesy of Drew Dilkens)
Windsor

UPDATE: Dilkens calls for regulatory change encouraging migrant worker testing

Following a meeting Thursday morning with federal and local health officials, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens is looking for a national regulatory change that could motivate migrant workers to get tested for COVID-19.

Migrant workers can not be forced to get tested, but Dilkens told BlackburnNews.com they could be barred from working unless they can prove they have tested negative for the virus.

He said he envisions rules similar to the ones that now regulate who can visit residents at long-term care and retirement homes.

"You can now go visit someone at a long-term care home, but you can't do it unless you can prove that you've had a negative COVID test in the last 14 days," he explained. "And the same thing could happen from the farm perspective where you can not work on one of these farms unless you've gone for a test and can prove that you're negative."

He said it puts the onus on both farm operators and workers.

"The worker has a choice to make. Do I want to continue to get paid and go to work, or do I want to sit out and not get tested," said Dilkens.

Staff at the COVID-19 testing centre for migrant workers at the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre. (Photo courtesy of Erie Shores Healthcare) Staff at the COVID-19 testing centre for migrant workers at the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre. (Photo courtesy of Erie Shores Healthcare)

Erie Shores Healthcare has rejected sending teams to the farms to test workers on the job. Dilkens agrees. With 8,000 workers on 175 farms, the process would be inefficient.

Earlier this week, the hospital in Leamington announced it was closing its COVID-19 testing centre for migrant workers at the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre on Thursday. However, officials at the hospital stressed the centre could be reactivated quickly.

The decision to close the centre came after just over 750 migrant workers showed up for testing over a week. The centre could test that many in a day.

"The scary part of what we're seeing is that about ten per cent of those who came voluntarily to the centre are actually testing positive. Many of that farmworker population are also asymptomatic," said Dilkens. "That means probably out in the community."

Thursday's meeting comes after a conversation Dilkens had earlier this week with federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu. Included in the meeting were Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald, Windsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj, Erie Shores Healthcare Interim CEO Dr. Ross Moncur, and representatives from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

Dilkens said the federal government has several levers at its disposal to boost testing rates in Essex County. The regulatory change is just one. He said he and Hajdu also spoke about the possibility of sending representatives from Public Health Canada to the region.

He said a decision on how to move forward is coming in the next few days.

The City of Windsor has opened an isolation and recovery centre for migrant workers who test positive for COVID-19.

The push to test migrant workers is on after two died of the virus recently, and the high rate of infection within that population was cited as one reason why Windsor-Essex did not advance to stage two of reopening its economy.

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