WINDSOR, ONT. -- Blood donation clinics are back up and running in Chatham-Kent after a brief hiatus.

Officials “paused” blood collection clinics in late October after an employee at a YMCA blood clinic in Chatham was infected with COVID-19.

In a statement to CTV News, officials say it “impacted collecting a small amount of units.”

Clinics reopened Tuesday in Chatham-Kent, and at a good time with the holiday season coming up.

“It gets generally challenging to collect blood,” says Marisa Gatfield, territory manager at the Canadian Blood Services. “Collection opportunities will be lost over the holidays because of the timing of the statutory holidays which could put the platelet inventory at risk.”

Officials say blood donations fall off in the last two weeks of December.