Despite the continued decline in COVID-19 case rates in Windsor-Essex, the region's medical officer of health is urging residents not to let their guard down.
The current case rate in Windsor Essex is 46.1 per 100,000 population. This is well below the peak of 340 per 100,000 that was reached in December, but still above the peak case rate experienced in the first wave of the pandemic.
"Yes, the numbers are going down but our case rates are still high. It's not like where we'd like to see. We definitely don't want to ignore the fact how quickly it got worse," said Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed.
Most current indicators would put the region in the red or control level on the province's COVID-19 response framework.
The percentage of tests coming back positive also continues to decline. The latest figures put it at 2.6 per cent.
The province is expected to announce on Friday afternoon where each region will fall on the COVID-19 reopening framework.
On Friday morning, the Windsor Essex County Health Unit reported 21 new cases of the virus. There are 263 active cases in the region.
The health unit also reported two more deaths in the region linked to COVID-19. A man in his 70s who lived in the community and a man in his 90s from a long-term care home passed away after contracting the virus.
There are currently 40 patients with COVID-19 being treated in local hospital, 15 of them are in the intensive care unit.
