Canada's deputy prime minister is keeping a close eye on the situation with local healthcare workers crossing the border between Windsor and Detroit.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is reporting about one-third of the positive cases in Windsor-Essex are healthcare workers crossing the border to work in a healthcare centre in Detroit.
"It is a situation that we are monitoring closely and we need to monitor closely and we are going to continue to do that every single day," says Chrystia Freeland.
Freeland spoke with Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens by phone on Monday who voiced his concerns about the increased risk of spreading the virus in Windsor-Essex.
As of Tuesday morning, Michigan is reporting close to 6,498 cases with 1,801 of the cases in Detroit.
Freeland says this is a measure of how closely intertwined the two economies are.
"There are in Windsor, both Canadian healthcare workers who every day cross the border to work in Detroit and there are also people who cross the border from the U.S everyday to work in the Canadian healthcare system," she says.
Freeland says stepped up measures are in place, adding , “To very carefully check the health of the healthcare workers to be sure when they go to work and leave work that they are healthy and well."
Windsor-Essex Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed wants healthcare workers, if possible, to stay on one side of the border, instead of going back and forth.
He says with more healthcare workers crossing the border, it increases the risk of spreading the virus.