The Acting Medical Officer of Health encourages Windsor-Essex residents who cross the border to remember public health guidelines.
Doctor Shanker Nesathurai said it's still important to keep two metres from others, even if you are in the U.S. He also hopes residents will wear their masks, minimize the number of people they have contact with, and wash their hands frequently.
The U.S. reopened the border to Canadian visitors at 12:01 a.m. Monday, and thousands of people could cross after a 19-month separation from friends and family in neighbouring states.
On Friday, the State of Michigan reported 10,094 new COVID-19 cases for that day and Thursday. It releases the new case count three times a week.
On Monday morning, Ontario reported 480 new cases of COVID-19 after a brief uptick over the weekend. There were 636 new infections on Sunday.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit reported 61 new cases over the past three days. There were 23 on Saturday, 27 on Sunday, and 11 on Monday.
Almost half of those infections were from close contact with another confirmed case, but 16 people caught the virus in the community. Another four are connected to outbreaks in the region, and one was related to travel. Public health officials are still investigating the origin of another 11.
There are 186 active cases across the region, of which 123 involve a variant of concern.
The region's vaccination rate continues its snail's pace upwards. Just over 82 per cent of all residents over the age of 12 have had two doses of the vaccine, and 6,757 have had a third booster shot.
