What’s next? News expected this week on restrictions lifting as Windsor Regional starts to see an Omicron plateau

An inside look of the ICU unit at Windsor Regional Hospital in Windsor, Ont. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2020. (Michelle Maluske/CTV Windsor)

Windsor-Essex residents, businesses and heathcare officials could find out this week if the province will be loosening COVID-19 restrictions.

Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore discussed the data and fielded reopening questions at a media briefing on Wednesday.

Elliott said more details on reopening would be released this week. Moore added he is looking forward to the government’s announcement.

“I am confident that it will be phased,” said Moore. “It will be gradual. It will be based on data. It will follow the prudence that they have done in the past on that staged and phased reopening.”

Windsor-Essex medical officer of health Dr. Shanker Nesathurai said last week he anticipates province will provide a framework for reopening.

Windsor Regional Hospital Chief of Staff Dr. Wassim Saad said Tuesday there is still space in critical care.

“Right now because Omicron is not sending many vaccinated people to the ICU, we have critical care capacity, which is obviously a good thing, but our inpatient wards are also being filled with many COVID patients,” said Saad.

However some of the space was created due to the provincial decision to reduce surgeries.

“Because of directive number two with the reduction in surgical procedures, elective procedures to only the urgent and emergent ones, we were able to create that capacity,” said Saad.

Saad said there are some positive signs that Omicron variant spread is slowing down.

“I think we are starting to reach the plateau, at least in Windsor-Essex, some other areas in Ontario it has already started to drop,” said Saad.

Windsor Regional Hospital reported 106 people with COVID in hospital on Tuesday. WRH says 70 are being primarily treated for the virus. Out of those patients, 37 are fully vaccinated, four are partially vaccinated and 29 are unvaccinated. There are nine COVID patients in the ICU - seven are unvaccinated and one is partially vaccinated and one is fully vaccinated.

“When it comes to the 100 plus in hospital, they are not there because of COVID. Some of them are there and are just incidentally were found to have COVID because they were swabbed on omission and were in for other reasons such as childbirth or a fracture hip,” said Saad.

Moore said the province will continue to monitor any continued risks in communities and focus on hospitalizations and capacity levels.

He added there are a series of data points that they are watching with hospitalizations, including the number of patients in the ICU and the length of stay.

“It’s not one number,” said Moore. “It will be a judgement based on all of these different metrics by government of when to safely and cautiously reopening.”

Moore said the province may be reaching the peak of Omicron transmission in Ontario in the coming weeks.

With files from CTV Windsor’s Sijia Liu.