WINDSOR, ONT. -- Windsor-Essex will be under a stay-at-home order with the rest of the Ontario until at least June 2.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the announcement at Queen’s Park Thursday.
Ford says the extension is necessary due to the new, more contagious COVID-19 variants continuing to pose significant risks.
READ MORE: Ontario's stay-at-home order: Your top questions answered here.
Windsor-Essex medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed said the region has managed the third wave of the virus better than the second wave. The main indicators have been better than the provincial average.
This past week (May 2 to 8), the provincial cases rate decreased by 14.8 per cent, with the positivity rate also decreasing to 7.7 per cent compared to 8.6 per cent the previous week. The per cent positivity rate in Windsor-Essex last week was 5.4 per cent for the full week.
All public health and workplace safety measures under the provincewide emergency brake will also remain in effect.
“While we are seeing positive trends as a result of the public health measures put in place, we cannot afford to let up yet,” said Premier Ford. “We must stay vigilant to ensure our ICU numbers stay down and our hospital capacity is protected. If we stay the course for the next two weeks, and continue vaccinating record number of Ontarians every day, we can begin looking forward to July and August and having the summer that everyone deserves.”
The extension of the order also means no movement on golf or other outdoor activities that are currently banned. The province said consideration being made to the reopening of outdoor recreational amenities on June 2, subject to current trends continuing.
REMOTE LEARNING CONTINUES
Ford said remote learning will continue for students across the province until further notice. He said in the meantime, the focus will be on vaccinations.
WECHU CEO Theresa Marentette said Thursday the health unit is working on a plan to rollout the vaccine to students over 12 years old.
“We’ve been asked to coordinate locally with our locally school boards,” said Marentette.
In Windsor-Essex she said there’s probably about 3,500 to 4,000 students in each age cohort.
“We’re probably be looking at close to 24,000 that would be eligible for the vaccine based on that age criteria,” said Marentette.
Beginning the week of May 31, youth in Ontario between 12 and 17 years of age and their family members who have not received a vaccine will be eligible to book an appointment to receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, including at special dedicated youth and family clinics throughout the weeks of June 14 and 21.
“Expanding vaccines to youth 12 and up will bring us one step closer to normalcy for our students,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. “We are focused on delivering a safe, stable, and well-resourced learning experience with an additional $1.6-billion in resources to protect students and school communities in the 2021-22 school year.”
The province will work with public health units to offer both doses of vaccine to youth aged 12 to 17 by the end of August, in collaboration with school boards and other partners.
