The Windsor Essex County Health Unit reported a grim nine new deaths related to COVID-19 on Christmas Eve.
There were also 141 new cases identified in the region. There are now 1,290 active cases in the community.
The health unit reported eight deaths among residents of local long-term care homes. A man in his 70s, three women and two men in their 80s, and two women in their 90s passed away after contracting COVID-19. A man in his 70s, who lived in the broader community, also passed away after contracting the virus.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 6,464 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex. To date, the community has lost 114 people after they contracted the virus and 5060 people have recovered.
The health unit is currently monitoring 35 active outbreaks in the community including 14 at long-term care and retirement facilities and three hospital units.
Local hospitals are treating 63 patients who are positive for COVID-19, another 17 patients are in the intensive care unit.