WINDSOR, ONT. -- The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit says three more people have died related to COVID-19 in the region.

The health unit released the new numbers on Friday morning.

“Reporting these numbers is not easy. Every death is a tragic loss for our community,” says Dr. Wajid Ahmed,Windsor-Essex medical officer of health.

There are 541 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex, including 16 new cases and 122 recovered cases.

The death toll in Windsor-Essex is at 35. Twenty-four of those people have been from long-term care homes.

A woman in her 90s and two women in their 80s are the most recent deaths.

The number of outbreaks in long-term care facilities in Windsor-Essex has gone down to five.

Ahmed says there is hope for the region.Doubling time Windsor-Essex

Ahmed says the case doubling rate is going down, indicating that the community spread is decreasing.

There have been 5,002 people tested in the region, and 663 tests are pending.

In Friday’s stats summary, the health unit compared the regional and provincial case rate per 100,000 population. He says the data is not distributed by age, only population.Regional COVID-19 case rate

“We are a significantly high rate compared to the average,” says Ahmed, who adds Windsor-Essex is made up of 18 per cent seniors.

In Chatham-Kent, there were 40 positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, an increase of three new cases.