The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit will have to make some changes to its colour coded COVID-19 alert system after the province introduced a similar framework Tuesday.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed says, to avoid any confusion, the health unit is working on blending the two systems together.
The health unit's current system is broken down into three areas — yellow being low risk, orange for medium risk and red for high risk.
Ahmed says the local system is far more in depth.
"There are different indicators that the province is using versus what we are using and our is much more elaborate. We factor in many more aspects of the pandemic measures based on our local experience." he says.
Photo courtesy: Windsor-Essex County Health Unit
Ahmed says it would have been nice to have been given a heads up that the province was developing a similar system.
"It would have been much easier if we knew what was coming down the pipeline instead of spending our resources on developing. That would have been helpful, but in any case, obviously we don't want any confusion in the public's mind. So you will see some changes," he says.
Ahmed says the goal is to have the blended system in place by next week.
"We'll try to use what the province is using to inform us at this moment, but we'll also keep our local one. Then, by next week, we'll come to a better position on how we can combine them together to create a better picture overall locally," he adds.
The local health unit rolled out its colour coded alert system last Friday — something Ahmed says took staff a few weeks to prepare.
CLICK HERE to find more information on the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit's COVID-19 Alert System.