The Ontario government says Windsor-Essex has finally been given the green light to move into Stage 3 of the province’s reopening plan on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 12:01 a.m.
Windsor-Essex, which was the only region remaining in Stage 2, has been at the centre of COVID-19 oubreaks among migrant farm workers.
The rest of Ontario had moved into Stage 3 at various points in July.
Officials said the decision was based on positive local trends that included lower transmission of the virus in recent daily case counts.
“Thanks to the collective efforts of our frontline health care workers, public health experts, and the people of Windsor-Essex, more businesses in the region can hang up their ‘Open for Business’ sign and more people can go back to work as of this Wednesday,” Premier Doug Ford said in a statement.
“As all of Ontario now enters into Stage 3, I ask everyone to remain on their guard and keep following the public health measures to protect the tremendous progress we’ve made and keep this deadly virus at bay.”