Pandemic timeline
DECEMBER 2019
31 A “pneumonia of unknown cause” is reported to the World Health Organization's office in China.
JANUARY
25 A man in his 50s, who arrived in Toronto from Wuhan, China, becomes Canada's first “presumptive” case of the novel coronavirus.
MARCH
11 The WHO declares the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.
12 Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces publicly funded schools will be closed for two weeks following March break.
17 Ontario declares a health state of emergency.
20 First case of COVID-19 confirmed in Windsor-essex.
21 The Canada/u.s. land border is closed to all discretionary travel.
24 Premier Ford orders all non-essential businesses in Ontario to close.
31 The province announces schools will remain closed until at least May.
APRIL
18 Windsor Regional Hospital opens a field hospital at St. Clair College's Sportsplex.
22 The province mandates mass testing in all long-term care homes. Health teams do about 700 swabs a day in local homes.
MAY
15 The University of Windsor announces online learning will extend into the fall semester.
19 Ontario enters Stage 1; in-class school will not recommence that school year, but online learning continues.
JUNE
6 Plans for mass testing of thousands of migrant workers in Essex County announced following the death of a second migrant worker.
6 Windsor-essex reaches 1,000 cases of COVID-19
13 Windsor Regional Hospital announces that the final patients have left the field hospital.
25 Essex County, except for Kingsville and Leamington, move to Stage 2, several weeks after the rest of Ontario.
26 Medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed orders face masks mandatory in commercial establishments.
JULY
7 Kingsville and Leamington move to Stage 2.
21 Region reaches 2,000 cases.
AUGUST
12 Windsor-essex moves to Stage 3, several weeks after the rest of Ontario.
SEPTEMBER
2 The Windsor-essex County Health Unit identifies a cluster of more than 31 COVID-19 cases linked to parties involving multiple families.
8 Most schools in Ontario reopen for in-class learning.
OCTOBER
21 Local health unit reports zero new cases of COVID-19 for the first time since March.
NOVEMBER
9 Dr. Ahmed begins sounding the alarm over a surge in new infections.
12 Windsor-essex reaches 3,000 cases.
16 The provincial restriction status for Windsor-essex changes to “Yellow-protect.”
23 Case counts continue to rise and the region moves to the “Orange-restrict” category.
24 Outbreak at F. W. Begley Public School becomes the largest school outbreak in Ontario to date, with at least 49 students and staff eventually testing positive.
30 Windsor-essex moves to the “Red-control” status.
DECEMBER
7 Windsor-essex reaches 4,000 cases.
11 Dr. Ahmed orders schools to move to online learning the week before the holiday break.
14 Windsor Regional Hospital begins cancelling hundreds of surgeries due to a rise in the number of COVID-19 patients admitted.
16 Lockdown begins in region.
17 Windsor-essex reaches 5,000 cases.
21 The first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines arrive in Windsor.
2 Windsor-essex reaches 6,000 cases.
2 The Star reports on Windsor Regional Hospital chief of staff Dr. Wassim Saad's concerns that the COVID-19 virus may be mutating and becoming more infectious.
2 Krystal Meloche, a personal support worker, receives the first COVID-19 vaccine in Windsor-essex.
2 The health unit reports nine more Covid-19-related deaths, marking the pandemic's deadliest day in Windsor-essex.
28 The health unit reports 11 more Covid-19-related deaths, another record for the deadliest day in Windsor-essex.