Offering 2nd doses an 'important milestone' for Windsor-Essex vaccine rollout: WECHU

Windsor-Essex residents age 80 and up are eligible to book their final COVID-19 vaccine dose as of Monday morning.

Dr. Wajid Ahmed, the southwestern Ontario region's medical officer of health, said offering second doses for the first time was an "important milestone" in the region's vaccine rollout, but urged people to continue following public health measures.

"We need your help. We are almost at the end of the tunnel. Please help us reduce the daily case counts and reduce the overall risk to our community," he said at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit's (WECHU) daily briefing Monday.

As of Monday, 245,782 people in the region have had at least one dose, representing about 70.5 per cent of adults along with about 6,200 youth.

People 80 and up who got their first vaccine dose at least 28 days ago are eligible to call or go on the health unit's website to book their second dose.

Those 70 and older who have had their first dose before March 31 are eligible to join a wait list for an appointment.

Theresa Marentette, CEO of WECHU, said the health unit's website was experiencing technical issues for about 45 minutes on Monday morning, but access has since been restored. She encouraged family members to help their loved ones book their second dose.

The health unit is monitoring uptake on vaccine appointments to ensure all those who are eligible are aware, according to Marentette.

2 pop-up clinics

The health unit also said it's hosting two walk-in, pop-up vaccination clinics for youth and their families this week:

• In Belle River at the Atlas Tube Recreation Centre on Tuesday.
• At the Essex Centre Sports Complex on Thursday.

The clinics willopen from noon to 7 p.m. ET and no appointments are required. All youth aged 12 to 17 are eligible to attend along with immediate family members.

New hospital visitor policy

Effective Monday, Windsor Regional Hospital is relaxing its visitor policy in light of decreasing COVID-19 rates in the community and within the hospital.

The hospital will allow one essential visitor per patient per day, with some exceptions. Over the course of a hospital stay, patients can switch between two visitors, however, only one can visit at a time. Full details are available on the hospital's website.

25 new cases Monday

Meanwhile, the region reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. Seven of them were due to close contact with a confirmed case, while six were community acquired — meaning no known source of transmission— while a dozen remain under investigation.

Fifteen people were in hospital with COVID-19 cases, including four in intensive care.

There were 223 cases considered active in the community, with 134 active cases involving variants of concern.

Windsor-Essex public health officials announced Monday that a COVID-19 variant, the B.1.617 strain first found in India, was confirmed in Windsor-Essex for the first time.

Two cases of the variant have been reported, both tied to international travel, one from the U.S.

"Our team is ensuring that proper case and contact management are happening and no further spread is happening," said Ahmed.

There are eight active outbreaks at workplaces in Windsor-Essex:

• One in Kingsville's agriculture sector.
• Two in Windsor's health-care and social assistance sector.
• One in Lakeshore's health-care and social assistance sector.
• One in Windsor's manufacturing sector.
• One in Tecumseh's manufacturing sector.
• One in Lakeshore's finance and insurance sector.
• One in Windsor's food and beverage sector. 

There's also an outbreak at Southwest Detention Centre that has been active since late April.

Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton

Health officials in Chatham-Kent recorded seven new cases of COVID-19 since the municipality's most recent update on Friday.

Chatham-Kent Public Health also reported an additional COVID-19 fatality, the 17th person to die after contracting the disease since the pandemic started. There were 17 active cases in the municipality.

Lambton Public Health lowered its case count by one Monday after a previously recorded case was found not to meet the definition. In total, 33 cases were considered active in the area.