Starting Monday, the last call at Windsor-Essex bars will once again be at 2 a.m.
With COVID-19 case numbers on the decline, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has decided to rescind a previous letter of instruction limiting hours of operation for bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. Instead, new instructions will go out today saying those businesses will need to follow the guidelines under the Reopening Ontario Act but will not face any additional restrictions.
When asked if dancing would be allowed under the new regiment, CEO Nicole Dupuis said yes.
Four weeks ago, when case numbers were still rising, the health unit issued the rules. Less than a week ago, Medical Officer of Health Doctor Shanker Nesathurai defended the measures, saying they were working.
"Before the public health direction, there were 44 restaurants that had exposure of COVID-19 that ultimately led to 67 cases," he said last Wednesday. "Since the restrictions have come forth, that number has been reduced to six restaurants associated with eight cases."
However, armed with another week's data indicating a drop in case numbers and people self-isolating, Dupuis said the health unit is cautiously optimistic the curve will not bend upwards again.
The change will also remove the added burden on those planning weddings or funerals. They had to follow stricter local rules too. Now, they will only have to follow restrictions spelled out in the provincial legislation.
(Photo courtesy of Sarnia Sports)
The health unit is not prepared to loosen its recommendations to halt extracurricular activities at local school boards. Before the school year started, it recommended the pause until at least October 1 to control transmission between cohorts and schools.
Dupuis noted over 200 cohorts have been dismissed from school since the school year began, far more than by this time last year. Nesathurai said public health officials are always in contact with the school boards, but he hasn't set a new date to re-evaluate the recommendation.
Currently, one school is closed because of the virus. Sainte Ursule Catholic Elementary School in McGregor has 13 active cases of COVID-19, and the majority of the infections involve children too young to get the vaccine.
Another five schools are currently experiencing an outbreak.
Nesathurai did say he might reconsider the prohibition on extracurricular activities if the vaccination rate among those 12 and up improved.
The province is currently considering whether to add COVID-19 to the list of diseases all school-aged children must be immunized against for school. Nesathurai said he would support the measure if it boosted local vaccination rates.
"If we look at other vaccines that are required for young people, it comes to around 90 per cent," he said. About 60 per cent of eligible young people have had at least one dose against COVID-19. "So the gulf between those people vaccinated for COVID and those who are vaccinated for measles is quite a bit. If we could get up to the measles vaccination rate, then I think we would have less burden of disease in schools."
On Monday, the health unit reported a total of 100 new cases. On Saturday, there were 32, 40 on Sunday, and another 28 on Monday.
Of those, 55 people had close contact with another confirmed case, while 20 others caught the virus in the community. There are ten cases related to an outbreak in the region, and one is related to travel. Public health officials are still investigating the origin of another 14.
There are 278 active cases in Windsor-Essex, 5,004 across Ontario.
The province reported an additional two deaths on Monday and 511 cases.
