The COVID-19 case rate in Windsor-Essex has declined slightly but is still relatively high.
In the last seven days, the Windsor Essex County Health Unit has recorded a case rate of 82.9 cases per 100,000 residents. The percentage of tests coming back positive remains around the same at 6.2 per cent.
“We still have almost three weeks to see how the situation can change,” said Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed. “Our weekly case rate is still 82.9 per cent and if you look at the provincial framework that means we are close to a lockdown anyways. We are well into the red restrictive zone and that means the risk to our community is high.”
The provincial stay-at-home order will remain in place until at least May 19, 2021.
With variants of concern continuing to spread in the community, Ahmed said it is even more important to break any chains of transmission. At this time, about 50-60 per cent of daily cases reported in Windsor-Essex are identified as variants of concern.
“With the variants of concern, it is a huge risk. We know some of these variants do not respond well to the vaccine and if the spread continues on, that means we are giving this virus an opportunity to further get a strong foothold in our region and lead to ongoing transmission,” said Dr. Ahmed.
There are currently 434 active cases in the community. Of those, 143 cases have been identified as variants of concern.
On Friday, the health unit reported 49 new cases of COVID-19 in the region. Among the new cases, 21 are connected to previously confirmed cases, eight were acquired in the community, and 20 cases are still under investigation.