7,000 eligible people over 80 have pre-registered for COVID-19 shots in Windsor-Essex
CBC News | Posted: February 26, 2021 5:35 PM | Last Updated: February 26, 2021
Local case counts not low enough to meet criteria to leave red zone, Ahmed said
Thousands of people who are 80 and older have signed up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, less than 24 hours after a new appointment registration system was launched, the local public health unit says.
Theresa Marentette, CEO and chief nursing officer of the Windsor Essex County Health Unit (WECHU), said 7,000 people who meet the criteria, plus another 1,400 not eligible at this time, have submitted applications since the platform came online Thursday afternoon.
"Within an hour we had like close to 800 people already pre-registered," she said. "We were surprised that that was so quick."
The first 80-plus vaccine clinic is opening up Monday, ahead of the launch of a provincial appointment reservation system and most, if not all, other health units in Ontario.
A second clinic for those in the same age group is launching the following Monday in Leamington.
Marentette made the comments at the health unit's daily briefing on Friday morning. During the meeting, medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed presented his weekly epidemiological report outlining the region's recent pandemic-related statistics.
While cases have declined sharply in recent months, the weekly case count remains high enough to prevent Windsor-Essex from meeting the criteria to leave the red "control" zone of COVID-19 restrictions, he said.
For the most recent full week, the region saw an average of 47.8 new cases of COVID-19 per day, some of which were connected to outbreaks within shelters, Ahmed said. The figure is a slight decrease from the previous week.
About 2.3 per cent of tests completed locally have come back positive for the week ending on Feb. 20.
The public health unit also announced 32 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, and the death of a man in his 70s.
There are 261 active COVID-19 cases in the community and 379 people in Windsor-Essex have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
Chatham-Kent residents over 80 can now get vaccinated
Chatham-Kent Public Health is starting to vaccinate residents 80 years and older this weekend. The health unit says locals can call (519) 351-1010 on Saturday starting at 8:30 a.m. to book an appointment.
Outbreak at Village at St. Clair over
After weeks without major increases in new cases, the COVID-19 outbreak at the Village at St. Clair has been rescinded.
Sixty-three residents died in the outbreak, which began in early December.
In total, the outbreak involved 177 resident cases and 143 cases among staff. At one point, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare temporarily took control of the home.
"It was the worst outbreak I think in our region that we have seen, and it was unfortunate that so many people lost their lives there," Ahmed said, adding that hopes the outbreak will result in better systems.
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There are a dozen outbreaks active across Windsor-Essex as of Friday.
Two are taking place at Windsor Regional Hospital and two are active at shelters serving people experiencing homelessness, the Downtown Mission and Salvation Army.
There are five active outbreaks at workplaces:
- One in an agriculture setting in Leamington.
- One in LaSalle's finance and insurance sector.
- Two in Windsor's health care and social assistance sector.
- One in a Windsor manufacturing setting.
There are three active outbreaks at long-term care and retirement facilities:
- Franklin Gardens in Leamington, with 38 resident cases and 16 staff cases.
- Regency Park in Windsor, with 25 resident cases and 15 staff cases.
- Rosewood Erie Glen in Leamington, with 43 resident cases and 10 staff cases.
COVID-19 in Sarnia-Lambton, Chatham-Kent
There were four COVID-19 cases announced by Chatham-Kent Public Health Friday, and 17 cases remain active.
There were 10 new COVID-19 cases in Sarnia-Lambton. Overall, Lambton County has 68 active cases.