WINDSOR, ONT. -- The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is reporting 40 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths.

Medical officer of heath Dr. Wajid Ahmed says the daily numbers are fluctuating, but the overall case rate is still too high.

“The case rates are still very, very high, so I just want to make sure we are not undermining those case rates,” says  Ahmed. “I would feel much more comfortable when our case rates go down less that 40 cases per 100,000 population per week, which would take two to three weeks to get there if things continue to follow the same trajectory.”

The weekly case rate released by WECHU on Friday was 82 cases per 100,000 population.

Case rate

“We are still at that cusp where things can escalate very quickly,” says Ahmed.

He says once the provincial stay-at-home order is over on May 20, the province is expected to look at gradual reopening.

Windsor-Essex has had a total of 15,636 confirmed cases of the virus, including 14,838 people who have recovered.

The death toll related to COVID-19 is at 414 people.

HERE’S THE BREAKDOWN OF NEW CASES:

  • 20 cases are community acquired
  • 18 cases are close contacts of confirmed cases
  • 2 cases are still under investigation.

There are 12 Windsor-Essex residents with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the hospital and five people are in the ICU.

The health unit says there are 384 cases that are currently active, including 153 that have been identified as variants of concern.

OUTBREAKS IN THE REGION:

  • 8 workplaces are in COVID-19 outbreak
  • 1 community outbreak
  • 1 long-term care or retirement home is in COVID-19 outbreak

VACCINE ROLLOUT:

Essential workers who can’t work from home are eligible to book their COVID-19 vaccination appointments starting on Thursday at 9:30 a.m.

Medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed says about 50 per cent of the eligible Windsor-Essex population has been vaccinated with at least one dose. He says 37 per cent of the overall population has received at least one dose.

Windsor-Essex County Residents Vaccinated:

  • 61,692 WEC residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine
  • 147,669 WEC residents have received only 1 dose of a vaccine
  • 14,023 WEC residents have received both doses of a vaccine
  • A total of 175,715 doses have been administered to WEC residents.