The CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital is calling for mandatory COVID-19 testing for migrant workers in Essex County.
"There has to be a mandate, a requirement that employees get tested," says David Musyj.
With a goal to test 3,000 to 4,000 agri-food workers, the Migrant Worker Assessment Centre in Leamington has seen a low turnout in its first week having tested only 600 workers.
Speaking on AM800's the Morning Drive, Musyj says right now the testing is voluntary, but regardless, there aren't enough farms or workers taking advantage of it.
"I have been in a lot of political issues in my lifetime, this is the most political one I have ever been involved in, there are a lot of tentacles, a lot of issues but at the end of the day, we unfortunately have two deaths [of migrant workers]."
Musyj points out that mobile testing is not the answer, because it is a slow process and there are also staffing and set-up requirements.
He says when they were able to do mass testing in long-term care homes, non-urgent surgeries were cancelled and there was enough staff to go around.
There are about 8,000 agri-food workers in Essex County at more than 170 farms.
170 people were tested Sunday at the Ouellette Campus Assessment Centre, compared to 20 at the Migrant Worker Assessment Centre in Leamington.