As COVID-19 restrictions start to loosen and employers start to call workers back, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is sending a reminder to ensure everything remains safe.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed is updating an order to be able to monitor workplaces to make sure there are no COVID-19 outbreaks.
Ahmed says now is not the time to get lazy.
"It is important that we know what to expect from the employees," he says. "As things are getting better, that's the time when people start to lose their guard and people start to get more relaxed in terms of what they're doing."
He says it's important to stay on top of things.
"By reinforcing these orders it basically helps to make sure that we are constantly evaluating our practices in place and ensuring that everything is happening in the right way," says Ahmed.
He says reporting cases is just as important as it was at the peak of the pandemic.
"We didn't experience the third wave like many other regions and I truly hope that we won't be in that situation where we'll be forced to close a workplace," says Ahmed. "So making sure that the expectation in clear, especially from a reporting perspective. That is really, really important that we are aware of what the cases are."
The order reinstitutes a number of measures including ensuring the health unit is notified when two or more employees test positive within a 14-day period while impacted workers must self-isolate for 10 days or the amount of time their workplace is closed.