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Six of the new cases are being attributed to community spread, 13 are close contacts of confirmed cases, and 32 are related to outbreaks. The transmission sources for the remaining 199 cases are still under investigation by public health unit staff.
There are currently 1,305 active cases of COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex.
If residents fail to follow provincial rules prohibiting social gatherings over the holidays, Ahmed said he is “absolutely” anticipating an even higher jump in new infections.
“I don’t know what other measures that I can put forward, or the province can put forward, to contain it — all of these measures are completely and entirely dependent on everyone’s behaviour.
“Every day, reporting two or three deaths is not a good sign for our community. We have to remember, we all have our loved ones who could be vulnerable, who could die if they contract COVID.”
Public health and provincial regulations prohibit any indoor social gatherings with people from different households, with an exception for those who live alone. Only those people may join one other household.
In local hospitals, 76 patients have confirmed cases, with 16 of them in intensive care. An additional 129 patients have suspected cases of COVID-19 and are awaiting their test results.
There are 35 locations across the region with active COVID-19 outbreaks.
Fourteen are long-term care and retirement homes. In Windsor, there are outbreaks at Sunrise Assisted Living of Windsor, Huron Lodge, Banwell Gardens Care Centre, The Shoreview at Riverside, Berkshire Care Centre, The Village at St. Clair, and Village of Aspen Lake. In Tecumseh, there are outbreaks at Chartwell St. Clair Beach and Extendicare Tecumseh.
