They are still too young to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit wants to make sure some 11-year-olds don't miss out on sports.
It's loosening some of the restrictions at recreational facilities for those who are turning 12 soon.
As of Wednesday, 11-year-olds will have a three-month grace period after their 12th birthday to get fully vaccinated.
They won't have to show proof of vaccination for three months after their birthday, although they will have to show proof of age.
"The public health service has always recognized the importance of trying to improve the quality of life of young people," said Acting Medical Officer of Health Doctor Shanker Nesathurai. "I think we all recognized that COVID has disproportionately affected young people."
On September 27th, the health unit issued a letter of instruction to recreational facilities mandating proof of vaccination for all visitors over 12. However, Nesathurai said the situation has changed in the past six weeks. COVID-19 case numbers have fallen, and more people over 12 have had both doses of the vaccine. As of Wednesday, 82.2 per cent of residents eligible for the vaccine have had it.
"We think at this point in the pandemic that a three-month grace period would be a sufficient balance of risk and benefit," said Nesathurai.
The health unit reported an additional 30 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Public health officials traced 11 to close contact with another confirmed case, while seven are community-based transmission. Just one is related to travel, and three are outbreak-related.
There are 190 active cases across the region, of which 111 involve a variant of concern.
Eleven people are in the hospital with COVID-19, including seven at Windsor Regional Hospital. It reported none of those patients are fully vaccinated.
Five schools have outbreaks of the virus. Essex Public School was added to the list on Monday. Outbreaks are ongoing at Princess Elizabeth and Margaret D. Bennie Public Schools, Vincent Massey Secondary School, and Ecole elementaire Catholique Saint-Jean Baptiste.
