A representative from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit was noticeably absent from a joint webinar held Friday by health officials and local community leaders.
Officials at the event expressed the need for provincial or federal government help in tackling COVID-19 outbreaks in farms.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed says nobody reached out to public health to participate.
"Which is unfortunate,” says Dr. Ahmed. “I think our community can do better instead of trying to work in silos and as much as public health is doing its best with its staffing and everything, we can see where the struggle is, it's not in public health, public health is doing everything we can."
Mayor Drew Dilkens participated in the webinar and says there was no ill intent if certain representatives were left out of Friday's call.
“Any omission that you see where there's someone you thought should be on this call is truly just in an effort to keep this group tight so we can have a good conversation in one hour.”
Dilkens goes on so say that not everybody is included in every meeting.
“All of the folks you see on this call are part of many other tables, there are many other calls and Zoom meetings going on behind the scenes each and every day," he says.
Going forward, Dr. Wajid Ahmed says public health will be there whenever it’s needed.
“We have been given a lot of negative feedback, we have been given lots of criticism but our focus has always been, service the community,” he says. “I there's a gap we have to step in and we have to do it and public health has been doing it.
Officials from around the region say the situation requires greater co-ordination than can be provided locally.
Dilkens says there have been instances where "the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing,'' and having a lead agency from the province or federal government would help prevent that.
Participants at Friday's meeting included Dilkens, Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald, Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos, CEO and Chief of Staff at Erie Shores Healthcare Dr. Ross Moncur and Gary McNamara, Essex Warden and Chair of the board at the health unit.