Windsor-Essex Migrant Worker COVID-19 Update
6-6-2020
It.is.with.regret.that we confirm the death of a second migrant worker in our region due to COVID-19 and announce plans for a multi-partner commitment for mass testing of thousands of migrant workers and other vulnerable settings in our region.
The 24-year-old young man died at Windsor Regional Hospital on Friday after first going to Erie Shores Hospital on June 1, 2020, from a hotel he was self-isolating at. The hospital has contacted the deceased's family in Mexico. The hospital sends its prayers to this young man, his family as well as that of the 31-year-old migrant worker who also passed away this week due to COVID-19. The Office of the Chief Coroner was notified of both deaths.
Starting Tuesday, June 9th, 2020 under the direction of Ontario Health, the following partners have assembled a team to begin mass swabbing of migrant workers in Windsor-Essex: Windsor Regional Hospital, Essex-Windsor EMS, Erie Shores Healthcare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Windsor Essex Community Health Centre, Home and Community Care ESC/Ontario Health West Region and Canadian Mental Health Association Windsor-Essex. This swabbing is also supported by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, the Municipality of Leamington, and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
This mass testing will take place over a 10-14-day period, with a goal of swabbing each of the approximately 8,000 migrant workers in the region.
This follows the proactive health assessments by Erie Shores Healthcare and Essex-Windsor EMS on the currently positive COVID-19 migrant workers.
We will keep the community updated throughout this process.