WINDSOR — Ontario Premier Doug Ford says 'select reopening' is on the table for Windsor and Essex County.
Ford made the comments Wednesday morning on AM800s' the Morning Drive, that opening Windsor and not certain areas of the county is one possibility moving forward.
"It is on the table and we put that recommendation to the chief medical officer and I'm really pushing it," says Premier Ford.
The majority of recent COVID-19 cases have come from the agri-food industry and some believe it isn't fair for the entire region to remain in Stage 1 of the economic recovery plan.
"We are one province, we need to stick together and move forward together so that's definitely on the table," he says. "Let's see how the testing [farm testing] goes over the next few days. The farmers are co-operating and we are going into the farms."
Ford says the province is considering one option for agri-food workers who test positive.
"We will make sure the workers who are testing positive are self-isolated and taken care of and the asymptomatic folks, the doctors said as long as they go out to work and don't have other workers close to them, then that should be fine if they aren't showing any symptoms."
Ford said earlier this week that he won't get a haircut until the entire province, including residents Windsor-Essex, are able to do so — but he may be making a special trip to Windsor.
"I'm going to commit right now, when everyone else can get a haircut, I will wait a week for everyone to get caught up, I will drive to Windsor-Essex and I will get a barber and I'm getting my haircut there because it is just not fair to the people there."
An on-site testing unit is being set up this week in certain farms in Essex County to swab workers.
So far, Windsor-Essex has been passed over three times from moving to stage 2.