2 more deaths due to COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex

Two more people in Windsor-Essex with COVID-19 have died, including a man in his 40s.

The other death was a man in his 60s, according to the public health unit.

The last time a person in their 40s died from COVID-19 was in December.

Since the pandemic began, 409 people have died from COVID-19 locally. As of data released last week, 86 per cent of those who have died from COVID-19 were 70 and older.

There are 18 people batting COVID-19 in hospital, including five in ICU, though the health unit couldn't say whether they were local residents or people brought to Windsor-Essex due to capacity challenges in hospitals elsewhere in the province.

The region saw an increase of 40 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit reported, and 398 cases are considered active in total.

Theresa Marentette, CEO of WECHU, said at the health unit's daily briefing Tuesday that despite a recent rise in the region's cases, there is no backlog in case and contact management. She said cases are being followed up on within a day or two.

More than 400 students, staff isolating

One of the areas where more cases are popping up is in the school system. There are three active outbreaks and 431 students and staff are isolating due to potentially exposures at 15 different schools, Marentette said.

The province announced Monday that students won't be returning to the classroom physically following the spring break, and will be switching to online learning.

Dr. Wajid Ahmed, medical officer of health, said the health unit was looking at the issue of whether local schools need to close, prior to the province making its decision.

"We have seen some trends in the cases increasing in the local school population, but not to a level where we were forced to close the schools last year," he said, referencing his previous order shuttering all schools throughout Windsor and Essex County in December.

Ahmed also encouraged those celebrating Ramadan, which started on Tuesday, to do so with members of their own household or through virtual events. 

"This is typically a time of gathering, however, minimizing the risk of COVID-19 must be prioritized as the pandemic continues in our region and in our country," he said.

He said that people vaccinated still have to follow public health advice.

As of the health unit's update on Tuesday, 106,546 residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccines, and overall 119,024 doses have been administered.

Of the 40 new cases announced Tuesday:

• Eight involve close contacts of cases that were previously identified.
• Nine were community acquired, meaning there is no known source of transmission.
• Two cases are related to outbreaks.
• 21 are under investigation.

There are a dozen ongoing outbreaks, including three at schools: 

• Centennial Central Public School.
• St. Peter Catholic School.
• St. John Vianney Catholic School.

There are seven workplace outbreaks:

• Three outbreaks within Windsor's health care and social assistance sector
• One in Windsor's arts, entertainment and recreation sector.
• One in Windsor's manufacturing sector.
• One in Lakeshore's manufacturing sector.
• One in a personal service setting in Windsor.

There are also outbreaks at Southwest Detention Centre and Victoria Manor.

COVID-19 in Sarnia and Chatham-Kent

There were eight new cases of COVID-19 reported by Lambton County Public Health on Tuesday, along with one additional death. There are 115 cases active overall, and 54 COVID-19 deaths have occurred since the pandemic started.

Chatham-Kent Public Health reported an increase of five new cases; 43 cases are considered active overall. There are five active outbreaks in the municipality.