The Acting Medical Officer of Health for Windsor-Essex has some concerns about spikes in COVID-19 cases during the Easter weekend.
Dr. Shanker Nesathurai says people should still enjoy the holidays, but should do so with caution.
"When one makes a decision about what activities to participate in during the long weekend or the holiday period, I think it's reasonable to consider the risk to the individual and the risk to the community. Stated in another way, how do you minimize the chance of getting sick personally and how do you minimize the chances of giving COVID to someone else."
Nesathurai adds, the best way to stay safe against the virus is to be vaccinated.
"If you're vaccinated, you are much less likely to hospitalized or die from COVID. Perhaps half the people in the district are up to date on their vaccines or have had three doses if that's considered an index, so we have opportunities to improve vaccination rates especially for those who don't have any vaccines," he said.
He says residents should limit gatherings during the holiday.
"The larger the gathering the more likely you are to get infected and transmit it to someone else, it doesn't mean can't go to a gathering but just contemplate that," he began. "If you are going to have a gathering it would be better to have it amongst vaccinated people versus those who are un-vaccinated which would benefit both the vaccinated individuals and the unvaccinated. "
Nesathurai continues to believe the province should re-implement masking direction.