Windsor Regional Hospital clear of COVID-19 patients for 1st time in months

The easing of thepandemic in Windsor-Essex reached another milestone Monday when Windsor Regional Hospital officials declared that the facilityno longer had anyCOVID-19 patients.

It's been ninemonths since the hospital had no COVID-19 patients.

The last time this occurred was Oct. 12, prior to the deadly second wave of the pandemic, the hospital said.

David Musyj, the hospital's president and CEO, encouraged people to get vaccinated to avoid anyone else being hospitalized or dying due to COVID-19.

"This is great news however we need to keep it this way. The way we keep it this way is anyone age 12 or older getting vaccinated with two doses of a mRNA vaccine," he said in a media release.

As the local vaccination rate plateaus, fivemass vaccination sites in Windsor-Essex are offering walk-in and same-day appointments, and a series of pop-up clinics are scheduled.

The pandemic has claimed 435 lives in Windsor-Essex. Hospitalizations at Windsor Regional peaked at 76 patients in early January.

Later that month, while the region was in the grips of the second wave, CBC News got a look inside the hospitalto see what doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists were facingon the front lines.

The hospital has also treated patients from other areas of the province. During the third wave, Windsor-Essex did not see the surge in cases other areas did, and dozens ofCOVID-19 patients were send to Windsor to ease the burden on regionssuch as the Greater Toronto Area.

Currently, there are no COVID-19 outbreaks in Windsor-Essex and 24cases are considered active