Statement Regarding Essential Workers and Self-Isolation

Wednesday, March 18, 2020 | 3:30 p.m. | Windsor-Essex County

The following quote can be attributed to Dr. Wajid Ahmed, Medical Officer of Health for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU):

“The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every country including Canada. Strong measures must be put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 and flatten the curve. Every level of government is recommending all travelers outside of Canada self-isolate for 14-days upon return. Dr. Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario, has recommended essential workers contact their employers to assess their ability to return to work.

Essential workers are those that are considered critical to preserving life, health, and basic societal functioning. Essential workers include (but are not limited to):

• first responders to life threatening events;
• health care workers who are essential to delivering patient care and life-saving services;
• critical infrastructure workers such as drinking water, hydro, internet, and natural gas;
• others as determined by the workplaces as essential to maintain the critical societal functions during pandemic.

I’ve expanded Dr. Williams recommendations locally for essential service workers and ask that:

• Essential workers who have travelled outside of Canada must self-isolate for 14-days upon return. This is for ‘non-essential travel’ such as cruises or vacations and is not meant for the daily commuters who are crossing the border for work.

As a border community, we have additional risks to consider. Essential workers returning to Canada also have the potential to spread COVID-19 in the community. We must reduce the likelihood of these workers spreading the disease through public health measures such as self-isolation for 14 days and monitoring for symptoms.”