WINDSOR, ONT. -- The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is reporting two additional deaths and 21 new COVID-19 cases in the region.

A man in his 90s from long-term care and a man in his 70s from the community are the latest deaths.

The local death toll related to COVID-19 has reached 352 people.

Windsor-Essex has had a total of 12,470 confirmed cases of the virus, including 11,855 people who have recovered.

Here’s the breakdown of new cases:

  • 2 are close contacts of confirmed cases
  • 2 are related to outbreaks
  • 3 are considered community acquired
  • 14 are still under investigation.

WECHU says 263 cases are considered active. There are 40 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the hospital and 13 people are in the ICU.

The health unit is also reporting the possibility of COVID-19 exposure at Brady's Drug Store on 190 Chishold Street in Belle River. Dates of exposure include February 2 until February 10 between the hours of 9 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. While exposure is considered low risk, anyone who visited the location should monitor themselves for symptoms for 14 days from the date of exposure.

Medical health officer Dr. Wajid Ahmed gave his weekly epidemiological summary on Friday.

Ahmed says the case counts continue to decrease from the peak in January.

“We are seeing an ongoing decline, which is a good sign,” says Ahmed. “We also have to see that this number is still high compared to the peak of the first wave.”

The case rate per 100,000 people for the last seven days is 46.1.

The number of COVID-19 tests in Windsor-Essex dropped slightly to about 8,000 tests a week. The per cent positivity also decreased to 2.6 per cent.