CBC Windsor June 2 COVID-19 update: One more person has died

The Windsor Essex County Health Unit reported seven new cases of COVID-19 for our region Tuesday, and another person has died.

A woman in her 70s who was a resident of a long-term care home died on Monday, said medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed.

One of the seven new cases is a farm worker, and the other six people who have tested positive were "community cases" said Ahmed.

The health unit is no longer providing updated numbers on how many tests have been taken or how many are pending. Ahmed said it's because there are multiple testing centres and the information they provide daily will not be accurate.

He said the province's broader testing strategy will be lead by the Ministry of Health along with its partners, and public health work is moving toward "case and contact management."

The health unit also announced that its next drive-thru testing site will be set up Wednesday at the Kingsville Recreational Sport Field from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

| The health unit's COVID-19 update for June 2:

On Monday, the health unit reported that two people have died due to COVID-19, and one of them was the youngest victim to the disease our region has seen.

A woman in her 80s who was a resident of a long-term care home died at the Windsor Regional Hospital's field hospital set up at St. Clair College.

A 31-year-old migrant farm worker from Mexico died Saturday after testing positive for COVID-19 on May 21.

On Tuesday, Ahmed said the health unit is testing migrant workers when appropriate but it's a group of more than 8,000 people locally, and he said the ministry needs to provide the health unit with more information on how to proceed.

This comes after Premier Doug Ford said Monday that all migrant workers should be tested.

WATCH | Premier Ford said all migrant workers should be tested for COVID-19:

Of the now 66 people who have died in Windsor-Essex, 49 of those individuals were residents in long-term care homes.

Two long-term care homes remain under an outbreak.

Temporary foreign worker dies due to COVID-19

The 31-year-old temporary foreign worker who died due to COVID-19 had no underlying health issues, said medical officer of health for the Windsor Essex County Health Unit, Dr. Wajid Ahmed.

Steve Laurie is responsible for the facilitation of temporary foreign workers to Woodside Greenhouses Inc., the pepper farm in Kingsville, Ont. where the man worked.

Laurie, who said the man's name is Bonifacio Eugenio-Romero, said he took the man to the hospital on May 21 for treatment and a COVID-19 test after he said he had a fever. Two days later, the test came back positive and Eugenio-Romero was given a hotel room, as were his colleagues so they could all self-isolate.

By Saturday, Eugenio-Romero had trouble breathing and was taken to hospital by EMS, both the health unit and Laurie confirmed. Laurie said 30 minutes later, the man died, leaving his co-workers upset and worried.

"They're rattled," he said. "It's been a wake-up call for a lot of them."

The news of the man's death comes after major spikes in the numbers of COVID-19 cases popped up at farms in the southwestern Ontario region.

In Windsor-Essex, 175 — about 18 per cent — of all COVID-19 cases have been among farm workers from 17 different farms in the region. The Windsor Essex County Health Unit would not confirm which farms or businesses the workers were at, saying the public was not at risk because of these outbreaks.

Testing centres open 7 days a week

The health unit said testing is available at two assessment centres in Windsor-Essex. People that have at least one symptom of the virus, and people who are asymptotic but are at risk of contracting the virus can be tested.

Windsor Regional Hospital has extended hours for the assessment centre at the Ouellette Campus next to the Emergency Department. That site has seen record numbers of people come in for testing with 319 visiting on Wednesday.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The assessment centre at Erie Shores HealthCare is open from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

COVID-19 in Sarnia-Lambton

Lambton Public Health reported 263 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the region. Another person has died due to the disease, bringing the total number of deaths to 23.

Another 207 people have recovered.

An outbreak at Vision Nursing Home in Sarnia has worsened, as another resident there has died. Twenty-five residents in total testing positive for the disease and 24 staff members. Eight residents in total have died at Vision Nursing Home.

The home has sent its remaining nine residents with COVID-19 to the hospital to continue their care.

"People are feeling cautiously optimistic," said Julia Oosterman of Bluewater Health. "The residents who are moving are happy to be outside and seeing the fresh air, and I think it's a bit of an exciting change. Everyone's been very pleasant and the mood is good."

The move is also being done in the interests of protecting about 120 other residents at Vision.

Lambton Meadowview Villa in Petrolia came under outbreak again after one staff member tested positive for COVID-19. A previous outbreak at the facility, also involving one staff member, was reported as being over April 23.

COVID-19 in Chatham-Kent

Chatham-Kent's health unit reported 146 cases of COVID-19 for that community, with the majority of them linked to an outbreak at Greenhill Produce.

There are now 102 workers at the facility who have tested positive for COVID-19. An outbreak was investigated at the end of April, when about 40 cases of the disease were discovered among workers at the greenhouse operation.

Only seven of those cases are still active, according to CK Public Health. Another 95 workers have recovered.

In Chatham-Kent, one person has died due to COVID-19 and 135 people have recovered.