COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic at Devonshire Mall set to close next month

After nine months of handing out jabs to Windsor-Essex residents, the COVID-19 vaccination clinic located in Devonshire Mall will close next month.

The clinic, which opened on June 21, 2021, in the former Sears outlet, will provide its final COVID-19 vaccines as of 3:30 p.m. on April 2, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) said in a news release Monday.

Since its opening, WECHU said staff at the clinic have given out more than 125,000 first and second doses, along with about 96,000 third and fourth booster shots.

As of March 8, the vaccination site also began offering catch-up immunizations for students in grades 7 to 12.

WECHU said that students who have not yet started or completed their vaccination series for Hepatitis B, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and/or Meningococcal Disease and want to get their shots at Devonshire Mall must book an appointment before April 1, pending availability.

WECHU said that residents who still want to receive their COVID-19 vaccine can visit the Devonshire Mall site up until its closing date onTuesdays between 11: 30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesdays to Saturdays between 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

More than 200 new high risk cases

WECHU reported 201 new high risk COVID-19 cases for the region Monday. Of these new cases, 79 were reported on Saturday and 74 were reported on Sunday.

In total, there are 288 active high risk cases across Windsor-Essex. Twenty-four people are in hospital with the disease and two are in the ICU.

There are six active COVID-19 outbreaks, including three at long-term care or retirement homes, two community outbreaks and one hospital unit outbreak.

City ends 'municipal emergency' declared at start of COVID-19

On Monday, the City of Windsor also ended its declaration of a municipal emergency, which was put in place two years ago on March 20, 2020, when the pandemic began.

In a news release, the city said it will continue to adhere to public health guidance, such as enhanced cleaning protocols, wearing masks when people can't physically distance and hand sanitize as often as possible. It said it will also continue to advocate for vaccinations.

"As pressures ease, we will now focus our efforts on recovery and lessons learned," fire chief and the city's Community Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Laforet said in a news release.

The city said it public health officials have advised that COVID-19 cases will continue to be monitored, along with health care capacity.