As cases increase, Windsor-Essex health officials call for crackdown on local rule breakers

Public health officials in Windsor-Essex anticipate that the province may bump the region out of the green or "prevent" COVID-19 category as cases continue to rise.

If it doesn't happen, they say they are prepared to go above provincial guidelines and implement tighter local restrictions themselves, which will includecracking down on rule breakers.

"We are in this pandemic now, it's a global pandemic, 8 [or] 9 months. And if somebody claims that they don't know what these measures are or what their expectation is, it's really unfortunate," medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed said Friday. "It really concerns me when people are still acting like they don't know what they should or what they shouldn't do."

During the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit's COVID-19 briefing Friday, Ahmed said based on thecase rate he expectsthe region will move up a level in the province's new COVID-19 colour-coded framework. Currently, Windsor-Essex is one of 20 health units in the lowest category, with some of the loosest restrictions in the province.

But in the last two days, the region has reported74 new cases.

The province will update regional pandemic levels Friday afternoon.

If the province doesn't move Windsor-Essex out of the green category, Ahmed said he will releasea letter Friday that outlines more restrictions and stricter enforcement.

In some cases untilnow, those breaking local restrictions have been educated about the rules rather than facing fines. But Ahmed said it's time for greater enforcement.

"Any businesses, any thing, any one, any person, any social gathering, anything that may be in violation of these measures, they will be charged and strong enforcement will happen," Ahmed said.

"Cases are starting to increase ... this is a concerning trend for our community ... Everyone has suffered enough in this pandemic and it's time to take our own responsibility and do the right thing and take action."

On Friday, the health unit reported 35 new cases for the region.

Of those, 15 are agri-farm workers, two are healthcare workers, five are close contacts of a confirmed case and 13 are still under investigation.

There are now 185 active cases.

One agriculturalworkplace in Leamington is currently in outbreak, along with four long-term care and retirement homes.

Iler Lodge Long-Term Care Homein the town of Essex continues to have the highest case count, with 15 resident cases and one staff case.

Other homes in outbreak include:

• Berkshire Care Centre in Windsor with one staff case.
• Riverside Place in Windsor with two staff cases.
• Lifetimes on Riverside in Windsor with four resident cases and four staff cases.

The local pandemic status is still in orange or "medium risk," though Ahmed said it will update later on Friday. The local colour-coding alert system is separate fromthe provincial one.