Ottawa extends funding for Windsor-Essex COVID-19 isolation centre

Federal funding to operate a COVID-19isolation and recovery centre for agricultural workers in Windsor-Essexhas been extended.

The 117-bed facility, which is operated by the City of Windsor with the Canadian Red Cross, will receive federal funding to operate until the end of March, according to a media releaseFriday from the office of Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also referenced the new fundingin his remarks during an update on the pandemicFriday.

Overall, theRed Cross is receiving $135 million from the federal government this fiscal year to support its relief efforts across the country.Officials can't sayexactly how muchmoney is being committed in Friday's announcement,since the cost of operating the centre will depend on how it's used, according to a spokesperson forKusmierczyk.

The renewal of the funding comes ahead of the arrival ofmany temporary foreign workers in the agri-farmsector.

"Windsor-Essex will welcome thousands of new agricultural workers in the coming weeks and months,"Kusmierczyksaid in a statement.

"This critical federal funding will provide local health officials with a reliable isolation site for those who are unable to quarantine safely at home."

Migrant workers in the region's agricultural sector werehit hard byCOVID-19 outbreaks last year, prompting a crisis that drew attention to the treatment and conditions faced byworkers who come to Canada to harvest crops every year.

Two workers in the region lost their lives to the illness.