Windsor-Essex is not quite there yet, according to the provincial government.
The Ontario Ministry of Health announced Friday afternoon that seven public health regions will change colour classifications. Despite a COVID-19 case per-capita rate that is hovering around the requirement to move the region to the less-restrictive orange zone, Windsor-Essex is not one of them and will stay in the red-control zone for at least another week.
Windsor-Essex Medical Officer of Health Doctor Wajid Ahmed had indicated on Friday morning that he was not expecting the region to move into orange this week. The seven-day average case-per-capita rate was 39.3. One of the criteria for moving into orange is a per-capita rate below 40.
Friday's announcement marked the first time the entire province is moving out of shutdown since late December 2020. Moving into the red-control zone are the Sudbury, Simcoe-Muskoka, and Peterborough regions. Haldimand-Norfolk and Timiskaming will move into the orange-restrict level. The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge region will join Renfrew County in the yellow-protect level.
In addition, Toronto, Peel Region, and North Bay-Parry Sound will move out of shutdown mode and into grey-lockdown.
All changes take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday.
In remarks Friday afternoon from Queens Park in Toronto, Premier Doug Ford reported that 269,000 Ontarians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. A total of 820,000 doses have been administered so far.
The premier also announced that with the approval of the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, primary care centres, clinics, and pharmacies will soon be added to the venues where a vaccine can be obtained.
