Health unit reports 59 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday

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59 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Windsor and Essex counties on Friday, health officials said in a daily update.

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Including Friday’s new cases, there have been 21,154 COVID-19 cases in the region to date. Twenty-three of Friday’s confirmed COVID-19 cases are close contacts of confirmed cases, while 19 were community-acquired and three are related to outbreaks. Fourteen cases are still being investigated.

There are 350 active cases of COVID-19 in the region, of which 61 are variant cases and 289 are non-variant cases. There are currently 21 people hospitalized with COVID-19.

The health unit reports that six workplaces and six schools are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, with 13 COVID-19 outbreaks in the community. Three long-term care homes are reporting outbreaks, as is the Windsor Regional Hospital Ouellette campus, unit 4M.

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More than 328,000 people have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to date, of which 314,520 people are fully vaccinated. Nearly 87 percent of residents 12 and older have received at least one dose, and nearly 83 percent are fully vaccinated.

More than 11,700 people in the region have received a booster dose of COVID-19 to date. Currently, booster doses are available for priority populations, including healthcare workers, immunosuppressed adults, the elderly, and people who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, among others.

According to data from the health unit, the rate of COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated people is 3.5 times higher than among those who are fully vaccinated.

Health Canada announced Friday that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has already been approved for children ages 5 to 11.