The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit expects the region to remain in the Red Control Level of Ontario's COVID-19 response framework for another week.
According to Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed, officials with the province have not approached the health unit about a potential change as of Thursday. The province usually announces changes under the Reopening Ontario Act Friday afternoon.
Last week, the health unit announced the weekly case rate was at 50.1 cases per 100,000 population and the per cent positivity was 2.8 per cent. The case rate must be between 25 and 39.9 with the per cent positivity of 1.3 to 2.4 to move to Orange.
Ahmed says local numbers are getting closer to the mark, but the region isn't quite there yet.
"We're truly hoping that we will get past this hurdle and we'll be in a much better position," he says.
He's asking everyone to hold on a little longer.
"We definitely need support from everyone and we don't want to see what we have seen in the past," he says. "If everyone is following these measures, we can keep it under control and get through it."
Dr. Ahmed says the province is using extra caution with variant cases, "because of the higher transmission risk associated with the variant of concern that can change very quickly."
The health unit announced 21 new cases on Thursday and there are 229 total active cases. There are 13 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the hospital and five people are in the ICU.
Nineteen new cases were reported on Wednesday, 21 on Tuesday, 11 on Monday and 31 on Sunday. No new COVID-19 related deaths were reported this week.
Windsor-Essex has been in the Red Control Level since Feb. 16.
— with files from CTV Windsor.