The President and CEO of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce isn't surprised that Windsor-Essex is still in Stage 2 of the provinces COVID-19 economic recovery plan.
As you've heard on AM800 News, Toronto and Peel Region will be moving into Stage 3 on Friday and Windsor-Essex will remain in Stage 2 for the time being.
"The interest of the community's health, people's health is paramount,” said Rakesh naidu. “We understand that steps need to be taken so that we can further improve in terms of where we stand in terms of the infection rates and so on."
Naidu says of course he was hoping Windsor-Essex could move to Stage 3 but realistically he didn't think it was likely to happen.
"I also recognize that we do have some challenges,” he says. “There are some sectors in our region that haven,t done that well and the number of new cases in our area hasn't gone down significantly for the province to get the confidence that we can safely move to Stage 3."
Naidu says unfortunately the reality of remaining in Stage 2 means businesses will continue to struggle.
“There are several businesses that haven’t opened at all so even for those businesses that have opened up, it's not business as usual, businesses are having certain constraints."
In a release issued Wednesday morning, the province says it will continue to monitor the situation in Windsor-Essex and provide assistance through measures such as on-farm testing.
Of the province's 34 public health units, 24 of them were allowed to enter Stage 3 on July 17 with another seven joining them on July 24.
In Stage 3, nearly all businesses and public spaces can reopen, with health measures in place, and people can gather in larger groups.
— With files from AM800's Rob Hindi & The Canadian Press