The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is marking another COVID-19 milestone in the region.
First the first time in more than eight months, the health unit has announced no active outbreaks in the community.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed says at one point in January, there were 53 active outbreaks in the region.
"It's a complete collaboration between the community, the businesses, the organization, the high vaccination rate, good case and contact management, outbreak control measures that has got us to this point and we hope that it just continues," says Dr. Ahmedm, who goes on to say it's a significant milestone.
"There was a time in January we had 53 active outbreaks in the region," says Dr. Ahmed. "We now only have 54 active cases. Our vaccination rate is one of the highest in the province with almost 74 per cent of our adults receiving at least one dose and almost 35 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated."
Dr. Ahmed says the outbreaks were not easy for anyone including health unit staff.
"Our community has suffered a lot due to COVID-19," he says. "Our staff worked tirelessly to keep our community safe. As an organization we experienced many many challenges, external challenges as well as internal challenges but when I look back at what we have accomplished, it makes me feel proud and lucky to be a part of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit."
During the health unit's daily COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Ahmed thanked his team for all their hard work during the pandemic and says health unit staff continue to do onsite inspections along with offsite investigations once an outbreak is declared.