452 Total Cases Of COVID-19 In Windsor Essex, Three New Deaths, As Of Saturday Afternoon

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The Windsor Essex County Health Unit has confirmed 13 additional cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday afternoon, bringing the local total to 452.

Cases increased from 439 reported on Friday April 17th to 452 on Saturday April 18th. They say 58 people locally have recovered.

The Health Unit says 3,631 tests have been conducted as of Saturday and 697 tests are still pending.

The Health Unit is also reporting three new deaths in Windsor-Essex as of Saturday afternoon bringing the local death toll to 24. They say a female in her nineties, a female in her eighties and a male in his eighties have passed away and all three individuals were residents in long-term care.

“We are saddened to report the loss of three more residents in our community,” says Dr. Wajid Ahmed, Medical Officer of Health. “Our thoughts and prayers go to the families at their time of grief.”

The Health Unit says they are currently monitoring ongoing outbreaks at seven local long-term care and retirement homes including: AMICA, Sun Parlour, Lifetimes on Riverside, Franklin Gardens, Extendicare Southwood Lakes, Heron Terrace, and Country Village Homes. They say 429 individuals associated with long-term care/retirement homes have been tested in the past week.

With the province’s extension of the closures of schools, the Health Unit is calling on parents and guardians to help their teenagers during these difficult times.

“Adolescence is a time for increasing independence, social connections and milestones and teens are likely struggling with the idea of being stuck at home, away from friends and missing out on big events in their lives, like proms or graduation,” the Health Unit said in a statement.  “Skills such as prioritizing, planning, and judgement are controlled by parts of the brain that are still developing during teenage years. This means that teens may not always think through the consequences or impact of choices, and at no fault of their own, may be prone to impulsive or emotionally-driven decision making or reactions to stressful situations.”

“Additionally, teenagers may have multiple sources of information that consider to be reliable and will develop their own beliefs about their level of risk for severe outcomes related to COVID-19,” they said. “Parents are an important source of support for teens during this stressful and confusing time.”

The Health Unit is offering the following tips for supporting teenagers:

1. Listen: Engage your teenagers about their feelings, listen attentively, and refrain from judgement. Let your teen openly express how they are feeling and let them know that it is ok to feel this way.
2. Dedicate time to discuss what’s going on: Help your teen understand why physical distancing is important. Remind them that this is about protecting others as much as themselves. Find credible sources of information and share them with them to review together or on their own.
3. Give them space and time alone: Everyone needs space and time alone. Respect your teenagers need for privacy and allow them time to themselves.
4. Encourage social connections: Most teens are well versed in social media and connecting virtually and is a great way to link with friends. As parents it is important to continue to monitor how they are connecting, with who and for how long, while maintaining some flexibility.
5. Keep them busy: Involve teenagers in projects around the house, cooking for the family or taking up new hobbies that don’t involve screen time. Teenagers can also volunteer, tutor younger siblings, cut the grass for an elderly neighbor, or find other ways to support the family or community while physically distancing.
6. Encourage them to sleep, eat well and move more: A good night sleep, healthy eating and physical activity are important for everyone in maintaining good overall health and decreasing stress. Teenagers need between 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night, 60 minutes of physical activity per day and a healthy diet following Canada’s Food Guide.