The Windsor Essex County Health Unit says residents should continue to use the local pandemic indicator even after the province has launched its own colour-coded system.
"There are different indicators that the province is using verses what we are using and ours is much more elaborate. We factor in many other aspects of the pandemic measures based on our local experience," said Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed.
On the local pandemic indicator, the region sits at an orange or medium risk level, meaning cases are on the rise and attention is needed to limit the spread.
Ontario framework for adjusting and tightening public health measures
On the provincial scale, the region is in the green or prevent level, which indicates the region does not need to tighten public health measures.
"We are looking at ways right now on how we can blend this all together," said Dr. Ahmed. "So that we can still see what the province is looking for and get that information and then we also want to keep some of those local indicators where we can provide additional details."
The Health unit staff is working on blending the two systems and should have a new system in place next week. In the meantime, Dr. Ahmed said to use both indicators to assess the measures you should take to protect your health.
On Wednesday, the health unit reported three new cases of COVID-19 in the region. One case was a resident of a long-term care facility, one was a close contact, and one case is still being investigated. There are 63 active cases in the community and two people are in the hospital receiving treatment.
Ontario reported 987 new cases Wednesday out of nearly 28,600 tests completed. There were 319 new cases in Toronto, 299 in Peel, and 85 in York Region.