Windsor-Essex to launch COVID-19 vaccinations for farm workers

COVID-19 vaccination eligibilityis expanding once again in Windsor-Essex, with public health looking to get shots in the arms of migrant workers on farms andsome residents who can'tget to a clinic.

Beginning next week, the health unit said teams will be vaccinating recipients of chronic home-care who can't leave their houses. There are about300 peopleexpected to receive shots at home in the coming weeks, said Theresa Marentette, CEO of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU).

The health unit will also start rolling out shotson farms using the Moderna vaccine.

"Area farms were hard hit by the pandemic last year, and continue to experiencechallenges due totheir congregate living setting and work setting," she said.

The move to start vaccinations onfarms follows calls toprotect the province's temporaryworkersfrom COVID-19 andavoid thecrisisseen last year. Two workersin Windsor-Essex died after contracting COVID-19.

There were nearly 50 outbreaks and about 2,700 temporary foreignworkers caughtCOVID-19in 2020, Marentette said.

The workers, including some who are not temporary foreign workers,will be vaccinated at the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre in Leamington next week. Thehope is tocomplete400 vaccinations in a day, Marentette said.

As of Friday, the health unit's website has a section for health-care workers in some high-risk categoriesto register for vaccines, as well as a means for people with the highest-risk health conditions, as well as one of their caregivers, to register for vaccination.

The list of which conditions qualify as highest risk is set by the provinceand includes organ transplant recipients and people with kidney disease.

Meanwhile, the health unit said the region's case count has risen by 62, and there are 454 active cases in the region.

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed, who presented his weekly epidemiological summary at the health unit's daily briefing on Friday, said the region is continuing to see a spike in COVID-19 cases.

However, it's not seeing the record COVID-19 surge being seen elsewhere in the province.

"But we know how quickly that can change," he said, adding that if the regioncontinues to follow the current path, the situation will besimilar toDecember and January.

For the most recent seven days, the region saw an average of86.6 cases per 100,000 people. For the previous period, it was 72 cases.

The percentageof people testing positive out of all of those tested in the same time period has risen to sixper cent from 4.6 per cent the previous week.

Ahmed expressed concern about cases rising among school-aged children and young people, but said so far, the region has yet to see a significant increase in hospitalizations despite the recent spikein cases.

Seventeen people arehospitalized with COVID-19, including four in intensive-care units.

Since the pandemic began over a year ago, 409 people have died from COVID-19 locally. No additional deaths were reported Friday.

So far,124,594residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccineand 114,968doses have been administered. In total, 25.6 per cent of residents have gottenat least one shot.

COVID-19 exposure alert issued

The health unit has issued a COVID-19 exposure notice for Windsor Christian Fellowship Church at 4490 Seventh Concession Roadin Windsor.

The potential exposure is considered low risk, but anyone who entered the churchon the following dates is asked to monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for two weeks after the date visited:

• Friday, April 2 (9 a.m. service.)
• Sunday, April 4 (9 a.m. and 12 p.m. services.)
• Sunday, April 11 (9 a.m.and 12 p.m. services.)

10 outbreaks active

Of the 62new COVID-19 cases reported on Friday:

• 19 involveclose contacts of cases that were previously identified.
• Seven werecommunity acquired, meaning there is no known source of transmission.
• 36 are under investigation.

There are 10 ongoing outbreaks, including at the following schools:

• Centennial Central Public School.
• St. Peter Catholic School.
• St. John Vianney Catholic School.

Outbreaks are taking place at seven workplaces:

• Four are within Windsor's health care and social assistance sector, one involving a variant of concern.
• Two in Windsor's manufacturing sector, including one involving a variant of concern.
• One in LaSalle's manufacturing sector.

COVID-19 in Chatham-Kent, Sarnia-Lambton

Lambton Public Health reported eightnew COVID-19 cases Friday. There are 114cases active overall.

Chatham-Kent reported an increase of seven new casesand 41infectionsare considered active overall.