WECHU reports 11 new deaths related to COVID

One-day jump in fatalities highest since pandemic began

The COVID-19 death toll in Windsor-essex increased by 11 people in the health unit's update on Monday.

The jump is believed to be the highest the region has seen in a single day since the start of the pandemic, bringing the area's total number of deaths related to the novel coronavirus to 127.

Of the new deaths, seven were people in long-term care homes and four were residing in the community.

The health unit said there were six women and five men among the new deaths.

The youngest was a man in his 60s, the eldest was a man more than 100 years old.

Monday's grim statistic was among other concerning numbers that the Windsor-essex County Health Unit reported over the holiday break.

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day all brought triple-digit increases to the region's total case count.

The trend continued on Monday, with the addition of 174 cases, bringing the cumulative number of cases seen in Windsor-essex to 7,054.

As of Monday morning, 1,704 local cases are considered active. 5,223 are considered resolved.

There are 79 COVID-19 patients in local hospitals.

The health unit is currently monitoring 41 outbreak situations, including 17 long-term care or retirement homes in the area.

Four of those outbreaks at longterm care facilities were reported on Dec. 26.

A new community outbreak situation was also reported on Dec. 27 at the Salvation Army Centre of Hope, 355 Church St., in downtown Windsor.

Going by the region's seven-day moving average, 9.6 per cent of local tests are currently returning as positive.

The last time Windsor-essex has had comparable “per cent positive” rates was in May, when COVID-19 was spreading among the Essex County migrant worker population.

Meanwhile, provincial health officials have confirmed that a mutation of COVID-19 first identified in the United Kingdom has arrived in Ontario.

According to a Dec. 26 statement by the Ontario government, the variant of the novel coronavirus, which is known to spread easier and faster than the original strain, was recently found in a couple from Durham.

The couple has no known travel history, exposure or high-risk contacts, the province said. Both individuals are currently self-isolating.

Ontario is the first province in Canada to confirm the presence of the variant.

“This further reinforces the need for Ontarians to stay home as much as possible and continue to follow all public health advice, including the provincewide shutdown measures beginning (Dec. 26),” said Dr. Barbara Yaffe, associate chief medical officer of health for Ontario.

The provincial statement noted that “it is not unexpected” for the new variant to have been detected in Ontario, as there has been inbound international travel.

While studies suggest the COVID-19 variant is more contagious, the province said “there is no evidence that it is more likely to cause severe illness,” nor has there been any evidence that the vaccines approved by Health Canada will be less effective against the variant.