OUTBREAK WORSENING
Single-day record of 243 new COVID cases
A new record has been set for single-day increases of COVID-19 cases in Windsor-essex.
On Friday morning, the health unit reported 243 new cases of the novel coronavirus, easily surpassing the previous daily record of 195 new cases, set on Monday.
The unprecedented spike brings the region's cumulative COVID-19 case count to 5,446.
It's the fifth day in a row that Windsor-essex has seen a triple-digit increase of cases.
Dr. Wajid Ahmed, the region's medical officer of health, described Friday's figure as “really unbelievable.”
Just two weeks ago, a few dozen new cases in a day would have been considered alarming, Ahmed noted.
“You can understand the magnitude of the problem that we are dealing with,” Ahmed said. “At this time, with the current trend we are seeing, I anticipate (these records) will continue for at least a week.”
The new cases include 31 that are related to outbreaks, five that are close contacts of previously confirmed cases, and 207 that are still under investigation.
In another new record for the region, the Windsor-essex County Health Unit announced it is following 1,014 active cases of COVID-19, as of Friday morning.
It's the first time the official number of active cases in Windsor-essex has entered four digits.
The health unit is now monitoring 28 outbreak situations, including 10 long-term care or retirement homes, 11 workplaces, two hospitals and three locations in the community.
There are currently 66 COVID-19 patients in hospital, with 14 of them undergoing intensive care.
The health unit also reported a new death due to COVID-19: A woman in her 60s who had underlying conditions.
The woman's death brings the region's total COVID-19 death toll to 95.
Health unit CEO and chief nursing officer Theresa Marentette said the woman was not a resident of a long-term care facility.
There was similarly grim information in Ahmed's weekly presentation on the region's COVID-19 epidemiological data on Friday.
Pointing to a graph plotting the epidemic curve of COVID-19 in Windsor-essex, Ahmed said our current weekly rate of approximately 100 new cases per 100,000 population is almost three times worse than our rate during the first wave.
“And that trend is still going up,” Ahmed said. “It's not going down, it's not plateauing. It's still on the upward trajectory.”
Graphical analysis of several metrics — such as cumulative cases and deaths, rate reported by week, and “per cent positivity” — show steep curves in recent weeks.
“The easiest way to understand these graphs is to look at the steepness of the curve,” Ahmed said. “We are accumulating cases very quickly, in a very short period of time.”
In terms of the percentage of local test results that return positive for COVID-19, the seven-day rolling average for Windsor-essex of 6.3 per cent is currently one of the worst in Ontario, higher than Toronto and York region, second only to Peel region.
Going by overall regional rate, which factors in every COVID-19 case since the start of the pandemic, Windsor-essex is at 1,218 cases per 100,000 people, third worst region in Ontario, and significantly higher than the overall provincial average of 1,002 cases per 100,000 people.
“We've been raising this alarm for more than two months now. We've been saying that this would happen if people don't follow the recommendations and guidelines,” Ahmed said.
“There are still a significant number of people who either don't care or think they will be fine even if they are infected. That is leading to ongoing transmission.”