Over 70,000 COVID-19 vaccine shots have been given in Windsor-Essex

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit says more than 70,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the region.

At the health unit's daily briefing on Wednesday morning, WECHU CEO Theresa Marentette said 70,940 shots have been given so far.

About 14.7 per cent of the region's population — or 58,881 people — have received at least one dose since the rollout began in late December. By comparison, the national average stands at 6.8 per cent.

On Tuesday, the health unit opened up appointments at mass vaccination clinics to a new age group, those 75 and older. Bookings can be made on the health unit's website or by phone for those without internet access.

Marentette said Wednesday that the health unit is currently only booking appointments three to four days in advance to ensure vaccine supply.

"If the bookings are full when you go to register, check back as new dates and times will be added daily," she said.

The health unit reported 19 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Of those cases, five are close contacts of previous cases, three were community acquired and the remainder are under investigation.

There are 245 cases active and 13,000 have been resolved. Forty-nine cases of COVID-19 that involve variants of concern have been identified locally. Two have been confirmed to be the variant first found in the U.K. while the rest of the results are preliminary.

Hospital reducing testing clinic hours

Windsor Regional Hospital announced Wednesday that hours at its COVID-19 testing centre will be reduced as of March 29.

The testing centre at the Ouellette Campus will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week. The site was previously open until 7 p.m.

The hospital expects that same-day appointments will still be available.

The reduction in hours reflects reduced demand for tests and a need to free up human resources to help with vaccines, the hospital said in a media release.

No deaths reported since March 16

Since the pandemic began, 401 residents of Windsor-Essex have died after contracting COVID-19. No additional deaths have been reported in the last week.

Fourteen people are currently in hospital, including four in intensive care. 

There are currently 11 active outbreaks throughout the region.

Five community settings are in outbreak:

• The Welcome Centre.
• The Salvation Army.
• The Downtown Mission.
• Victoria Manor.
• South West Detention Centre.

Five workplaces are in outbreak:

• One in Kingsville's agriculture sector
• One in Essex's manufacturing sector.
• One in Tecumseh's manufacturing sector.
• One in Windsor's public administration sector.
• One in Windsor's repair and maintenance sector.

As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, there are no active outbreaks within seniors facilities. The last remaining outbreak, Leamington Mennonite Home, was cleared.

One school, W.F. Herman Academy, has an active outbreak.

COVID-19 in Chatham-Kent, Sarnia Lambton

Lambton Public Health announced eight new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. The total number of active cases fell slightly, from 220 to 209. Forty-seven people have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

There were a dozen new cases in Chatham-Kent. The active case count rose by four to 108.