Windsor-Essex still not meeting criteria to switch to orange

Windsor-Essex has been in the second-strictest level of COVID-19 restrictions for nearly a month, and based on new data released by the health unit, case counts are still too high to meet the criteria for looser restrictions.

The region had an average case count of 54.8 per 100,000 people for the seven-day period that ended on Thursday — which is above the case rate of 25 to 39.9 needed for the orange "restrict" zone.

The number is also higher than the regional average for the first week of March, which was 43.8 cases per 100,000.

The province usually announces changes to a region's standing within the COVID-19 framework on Friday afternoons.

There was no daily briefing from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit on Friday but on Thursday morning, CEO Theresa Marentette said she hasn't had any previous conversations with the province regarding staying put in the red zone or moving to orange.

That said, she suggested the case counts aren't good enough to warrant lifting restrictions.

"If we're looking strictly at numbers, I do think our numbers are not where they should be at this time," she said.

The region saw an increase of 39 new cases on Friday, and the death of a woman in her 70s was announced.

Overall, 396 people have died due to COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex.

Of the new cases, five are outbreak related, 10 are close contacts of confirmed cases, one case was community acquired, meaning there's no known link to other cases, and 23 are still under investigation.

In total, 296 cases are active in the region and 35 people are hospitalized.

Testing has picked up 32 COVID-19 cases involving variants of concern, though the results are considered preliminary for all but one case.

There are 14 ongoing outbreaks.

There are school outbreaks at Bellewood Public School, Monseigneur Jean Noel and W.F. Herman Academy.

An outbreak remains active at Windsor Regional Hospital, and there are three outbreaks in community settings: Victoria Manor, the Downtown Mission and Salvation Army.

Four workplaces have active outbreaks:

• One in Kingsville's construction sector.
• Two in Windsor's healthcare and social assistance sector.
• One at a Windsor retail location.

There are also three active outbreaks at long-term care and retirement facilities:

• Devonshire Retirement Residence in Windsor, with one staff case.
• Dolce Vita in Windsor, with three resident cases and one staff case.
• Leamington Mennonite Home with one staff case.