WINDSOR, ONT. -- Windsor Regional Hospital officials say the gradual restoration of postponed services requires a careful, cautious approach and residents are asked to be patient.

The Ontario government has lifted its directive issued in March which restricted elective and non-urgent surgical and clinical procedures, programs and clinics.

That means the hospitals of Erie-St. Clair West region are moving forward with a regional plan to safely reopen and reschedule various appointments.

WRH official say this easing of the provincial directive, however, calls for a gradual and incremental implementation of carefully thought-out resumption of scheduled cases.

“We are all looking forward to restoring services that have been on hiatus for several weeks while we worked to protect the public from the risks of transmitting COVID-19. Please be patient while we take the steps necessary to allow a safe, slow and incremental approach to gradually bringing services back online,” states a hospital news release on Thursday.

Windsor hospital officials say the earliest that some services and/or procedures will come back online will be Monday, June 1.

“We will monitor the situation daily within our hospitals and formally compare our findings at least twice weekly as a region to determine if changes are necessary to our plan,” adds the hospital. “Patients will be notified of opportunities to reschedule surgeries and other appointments.”

More information and answers to frequently asked questions are available on the hospital’s web site.