COVID-19 case rates for Windsor-Essex double in one week
Medical officer of health says risk persists, with large portion of population still unvaccinated
With the local COVID-19 case rate more than doubling since last week, the medical officer of health for Windsor-Essex says the risk of infection hasn't gone away despite looser public health restrictions.
Based on the current vaccination rate, an estimated 64,000 adults in the region are not yet vaccinated, Dr. Wajid Ahmed said Friday during an update broadcast live on YouTube.
"If you're going to a restaurant, if you're going to any place that does not require you to wear the mask...when eating or doing other activities, you will be sitting among people who are either unvaccinated or vaccinated, and increasing your chances to contract the virus," he said.
According to the health unit, 76.4 per cent of eligible residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while the number of fully vaccinated people 12 and up stands at 67.6 per cent
An average of around 1,300 shots were given daily in the last week, in line with a weeks-long trend of reduced uptake.
While the vaccination rate has largely plateaued in Windsor-Essex, the number of cases has seen sharp growth since the beginning of August.
Since last Friday, the active case count has more than tripled, from 25 to 79. The region's weekly case rate per 100,000 people has grown from 5.6 to 12.7 since last Thursday, Ahmed said.
Ahmed said he expected some growth in cases due to the loosening of restrictions in July, but didn't anticipate seeing the case rate hit 10 per 100,000 people until September.
The health unit reported 20 new cases on Friday for the second day in a row. One new death was reported, a woman in her 70s whom health officials said was not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Three people are being treated for COVID-19 in hospital, including one in ICU.
In addition to the cases, there are three workplace outbreaks: one in Tecumseh's manufacturing sector, one in Windsor's health-care and social assistance sector and one at an agricultural workplace in Kingsville. The latter two outbreaks involve the more contagious Delta variant.
Ahmed said all of the outbreaks are being well managed, however, and they involve a maximum of five cases each.
COVID-19 in Chatham-Kent, Sarnia-Lambton
Lambton Public Health reported one new COVID-19 case Friday. There are three active cases in total.
Chatham-Kent Public Health reported two new COVID-19 case in the municipality and nine are active overall.
