New day, more deadly COVID news

Overall infections cross 10,000 mark, while 11 more added to virus death toll

As the region's COVID-19 infection count passed the 10,000 mark, the health unit on Wednesday added 11 new names to the pandemic's local death toll.

The Windsor-essex County Health Unit on Wednesday reported the deaths of nine longterm care and retirement home residents: a man in his 60s, four women and one man in their 80s, and two women and one man in their 90s.

A woman in her 50s and a man in his 70s who lived in the general community have also died.

To date, 237 local residents have died as a result of the virus.

The health unit also reported 288 new cases of COVID-19.

This would be the region's highest-ever single-day case increase if not for a reporting error by the lab that processed the test results.

Medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed said some of the new infections reported on Wednesday were previously misreported by the lab and have since been corrected.

Those were added to Wednesday's case count.

In the past, when similar reporting mistakes have happened, the health unit has updated the data on its website to accurately reflect when the tests actually came back positive from the lab.

Since March, 10,278 people in Windsor and Essex County have tested positive for COVID-19. Of those, 2,812 cases are currently active, with 99 people in hospital and 18 in intensive care.

There are 45 active COVID-19 outbreaks at locations across the region.

Twenty-one outbreaks are at long-term care and retirement homes, including a new outbreak at Richmond Terrace in Amherstburg declared on Tuesday. Two staff members there have tested positive for COVID-19.

COVID -19 cases reported among residents at Rosewood Erie Glen, a retirement home in Leamington, have doubled to 30 since Tuesday, with three cases among staff members. At Augustine Villas, a retirement home in Kingsville, resident cases have risen to 51, up from 34 reported on Tuesday. Nine staff members there have tested positive.

There are also outbreaks at 19 workplaces: four farms in Leamington and four in Kingsville, five health-care and social assistance businesses in Windsor, Leamington and Lakeshore, a food and beverage service in Windsor, a personal service setting in Lasalle, a retail trade business in Essex, and three public administration settings in Windsor.

The community outbreak at the Salvation Army Centre of Hope has been rescinded, but the outbreaks at the Assisted Living Southwestern Ontario locations on Dougall and Longfellow avenues are still active. Windsor Regional Hospital is dealing with two outbreaks at its Ouellette campus.

The health unit has declared an outbreak at Queen Victoria Public School, where three staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. Ahmed said those individuals would have contracted the virus some time ago. Ahmed said the outbreak is not technically active now.