The Warden of Essex County says it’s easy to point fingers and deflect blame.
Gary McNamara, who is also chair of the health unit board, is reacting to comments made by Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens on Monday where he said other municipal leaders, including the warden, need to speak up on the issue of COVID-19 in the agriculture sector.
“First of all, I'm not one to point fingers, never have because that is counter productive in trying to find solutions,” says McNamara. “That’s easy to do, in terms of pointing fingers and so fort, that’s not my style. My style is work with groups and try to find resolve into the issue at hand."
McNamara says a lot of people don't understand that amount of work that happens behind the scenes.
‘To say that the county representatives have not been doing anything, that is absolutely false,” he says. “The Mayor of the City of Windsor can give me a call any time and that has not happened.“
Speaking on Tuesday morning, McNamara says people need to understand that this is a global pandemic and it impacts everyone.
“To sit back and point fingers is not finding a solution at all. We need to work with the farming community, we have to create an awareness and find that common ground and solutions to the problem."
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) is reporting 32 additional cases of COVID-19, 30 of which are agri-farm sector workers, for a total of 1,361.
68 deaths are reported and 788 cases are resolved.