Premier praises ‘fantastic’ local efforts to combat COVID-19
Ontario Premier Doug Ford heaped praise on Windsor-essex County medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed Thursday for spearheading a drive-thru COVID -19 testing program that handled 1,800 people in three days.
“And that’s fantastic,” Ford said, as he went out of his way during his daily Queen’s Park news briefing to “give a shout out” to Windsor and its medical officer of health.
“I want to say thank you for what you’re doing,” he said, describing how local officials from city hall, police, EMS and the Windsor-essex County Health Unit organized the drive-thru testing by closing roads and rerouting cars. Though he wasn’t specific, it’s evident the premier was talking about the health unit’s first foray into random drive-thru testing, which ran Friday to Sunday in the Silvercity Windsor Cinemas parking lot on Walker Road.
A long lineup of vehicles snaked through the parking lot towards the drive-thru testing station, where paramedics from Essex-windsor EMS and health unit staff — garbed head-to-toe in personal protective equipment — administered the tests.
A total of 1,808 people were tested at Silvercity. The results were not back as of Thursday.
Since the weekend, the health unit has branched out with drive-thru testing offered in Essex, Kingsville and Amherstburg with more than 2,600 tested in total. The idea behind the random testing is to answer questions about the prevalence of COVID-19 in the general population, Ahmed said last week. Tecumseh is next up for a drive-thru, scheduled for Friday in the Zehrs parking lot at 400 Manning Rd.
“That’s making things happen, thinking outside the box,” Ford said at the news conference, urging Ahmed and his team to “continue doing the great work.”
In a statement late Thursday, the health unit’s CEO Theresa Marentette said all its staff were “thrilled” to hear the premier’s shout-out on the great work the health unit has been doing.
“The first drive-thru testing site was a huge success due to our great partnerships with Essex-windsor EMS, the City of Windsor, and Windsor Police Services,” she said. “We’re happy this initiative was so well-received by the residents of Windsor and Essex County.”
Ahmed and the health unit have come under local scrutiny in recent weeks for how they’ve handled the pandemic. Ahmed initially said “there is nothing that people should be worrying about,” as the pandemic was first appearing. There was also a heated argument between Ahmed and Windsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj over testing in the hard-hit long-term care sector. Most recently, questions have arisen over the health unit’s efforts testing and monitoring migrant agricultural workers.
Last week in an apparent response to the criticism, the health unit’s board chairman, Tecumseh Mayor Gary Mcnamara, issued a statement confirming that board members “stand behind the strong and unwavering leadership” of Ahmed and Marentette.
In his comments Thursday, the premier said the Windsor success at testing large numbers using drive-thrus is an example of “what we need to do,” to combat the virus. As of Thursday, Ontario had 29,403 confirmed cases with 2,357 deaths. Ford said he was encouraged by the rising number of tests being conducted provincewide.
“Everything’s coming together now and I can see it,” he said. “We have a new testing strategy. Things are going well and it’s all because the 14 million people (in Ontario) are all pulling together.”
By Thursday, the number of people in Windsor-essex testing positive was nearing the 1,000 mark at 996. Of those, 556 have recovered, 313 are self-isolating and 66 have died.
Friday’s testing in Tecumseh runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone from Windsor and Essex County aged 12 and older is eligible. You need to bring your health card and up-to-date contact information. Access to the testing drive thru is via the Manning Road parking lot entrance.