WINDSOR, ONT. -- The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is reporting two additional deaths and 20 new COVID-19 cases in the region.

The two deaths reported were men in the community – one was in his 80s and the other was in his 90s

The death toll related to COVID-19 has reached 334 people.

This is the lowest single-day case count since Nov. 16, when the region had 15 new cases.

Medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed says even though the number of new cases are dropping, residents still must follow the COVID-19 safety protocols and restrictions.

“As we continue to see a case decline in our region, we are really thankful to the community for following all of those public health measures,” says Ahmed. “People are still dying, these are all the results of the surge that we have seen last month and we need to make sure that we don’t want to see it again."

Ahmed said the region’s case rate also decreased to about 80 cases per week per 100,000 people, which would put Windsor-Essex in the ‘Red-Control’ zone of the province’s COVID-19 Response Framework. Premier Doug Ford said that there might be an announcement coming Monday regarding reopening.

As of Thursday, Windsor-Essex has had a total of 12,253 confirmed cases of the virus, including 11,517 people who have recovered.

Here’s the breakdown of new cases:

  • 4 are related to outbreaks
  • 4 are close contacts of confirmed cases
  • 6 are considered community acquired
  • 1 is travel-related outside North America
  • 5 are still under investigation

WECHU says 402 cases are considered active. There are 59 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the hospital and nine people are in the ICU.

There are 37 outbreaks in the region, including 17 at LTC and retirement homes, 14 at workplaces, and six hospital outbreaks.