COVID-19 in temporary foreign workers and health workers crossing the border are the top two reasons why Windsor-Essex remains in Stage 1 of the province's reopening framework.
Speaking on Wednesday, Minister of Health, Christine Elliott told AM800 News, even though Sarnia-Lambton, also on the U.S. border, was given the green light to move into Stage 2, we are in a different situation here.
“So I think that situation is a little bit different form Sarnia-Lambton but those two factors are the principle issues that we're dealing with in determining what date Windsor-Essex will be able to move into stage 2," says Elliott.
At the same news conference, Premier Doug Ford was asked by AM800 News, who has the authority to mandate testing among temporary foreign workers and why it hasn't been done.
Ford says he can’t force anyone to be tested for COVID-19 and is pleading with the farmers to work with their employees and the province.
“I’ll do anything, I'll send buses, I'll send mobile units. But if I sent mobile units to every farm it will take 80 days [to test everybody,]” says Ford. “Please to the farmers and the workers, I understand the reluctance and in some cases they're worried and scared but there's no reason to be scared."
Health Minister Christine Elliott says the province continues to work with several partners to find a solution to testing of temporary foreign workers.
"It's probably going to be some kind of a hybrid solution with an assessment centre as well as having people go in mobile units from farm to farm because there's many workers in this area as the premier state, it would take 84 days if we did it just with mobile testing units," she says.
Speaking with the media on Wednesday, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed said that there are upwards of 300 workers in the agri-farm sector in Windsor-Essex who have tested positive for COVID-19.
14 additional cases of the virus were reported in Windsor-Essex on Wednesday, six of which were in those workers.