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The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit announced the deaths of four more people, all men who tested positive for COVID-19, on Tuesday.

One of the men was in his 40s, the youngest person locally to die due to the virus to date. He had high blood pressure and was an ex-smoker, but had no other underlying health conditions, according to medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed.

“Any life lost to COVID is a huge burden on all of us in our community, and we all need to do everything to prevent these losses from happening in the first place,” Ahmed said during the health unit’s morning update.

“COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate against any gender or age. It can affect anyone. It can kill anyone. All of us have a role to play in doing our best to prevent and limit the spread of the infection.”

The health unit also announced two men in their 90s and a man in his 60s also lost their lives Monday because of the virus. Both men in their 90s were associated with local long-term care facilities.

The health unit continues to monitor six long-term care homes and retirement homes where COVID-19 outbreaks are underway. Those are Country Village Homes, AMICA at Windsor, Lifetimes on Riverside, Heron Terrace, Franklin Gardens, and Sun Parlous Home.

On Tuesday, the health unit reported the outbreak at Extendicare Southwood Lakes had been resolved, since no resident or staff member there has tested positive for the virus for more than 14 days.

People with symptoms of COVID-19, including but not limited to fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, are eligible for a COVID-19 test at Erie Shores HealthCare or Windsor Regional Hospial’s Ouellette Campus if they have been referred for testing by the health unit or a primary care provider, or if they are a health-care worker, first responder, caregiver or care provider, or resident or staff member at a long-term care home or retirement home.

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Those tested can expect to wait up to a week for their results and should self isolate in the meantime.

COVID-19 test results are now available online through the health unit’s website, WECHU.org, though anyone who tests positive will receive a call from the health unit, but those who test negative will not.

As of Tuesday morning, Windsor-Essex has 506 confirmed cases. Of those, 88 people have recovered and 31 people have died. In total, 4,324 people have been tested, with 557 tests still pending.

Locally, 39 per cent of cases are among men, and 60 per cent are among women. The genders of the remaining one per cent of people who have tested positive are unknown to the health unit.

Local residents of all ages have been afflicted, though the groups with the highest rates so far are those ages 50 to 59 (roughly 18 per cent of cases) and those age 80 and over (roughly 23 per cent of cases).

Chatham-Kent has 31 cases, and Sarnia-Lambton has 148.

In Canada, 36,831 people have tested positive for COVID-19. Of those, 11,184 are in Ontario.

Michigan has 32,000 cases, and Detroit has 7,736.

Worldwide, 2,494,915 people have tested positive for the virus.

More to come.

tcampbell@postmedia.com

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