Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Southpoint Sun - 5
Local hospitals up the ante on vaccinations REGIONAL — All five Erie St. Clair hospital organizations announced on Friday, September 3 that they will require 100 per cent vaccination cooperation for their staff and volunteers going forward, or those who remain unvaccinated will face unpaid leave or termination with cause. The announcement
came less than 10 days after the local hospitals announced that they would require everyone to be vaccinated OR submit to regular testing. The stark rise in cases and hospitalization within Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton in the past week has promoted the move.
The hospitals affected include Erie Shores HealthCare, Windsor Regional Hospital, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance and Bluewater Health. As of August 29, 2021, Windsor-Essex had the highest number of active COVID-19 cases in Ontario - at 119 cases per
Letter To The Editor
Writer against mandatory vaccinations Dear Editor: On August 25, trustees of the Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board unanimously passed a letter writing motion which, among other things, will request that the COVID vaccine be made mandatory for all eligible school children. I watched their online meeting and was shocked to see that not a single comment or question was raised. Being an active parent who has volunteered to serve at our schools for over 10 years as well as within my Parish, I have a
well-established network of fellow parents with school-aged children. From that I can confidently tell you that a great number of parents do not want the COVID shot to become mandatory. Have the trustees abandoned the foundational principles of conscience and free will? I am left wondering – how did they each arrive at this firm resolve to strip this right from parents? Did I miss an online survey? Are they representing the parents, or are they cow tailing to social media driven
opinions, government or union leaders? Indeed, this is a complicated matter and new data is revealed weekly. That trend will continue for years. All should be free to make this decision for themselves and must not face discrimination for either position. But freedom is something rapidly eroding during this pandemic and courageous defenders of freedom are in short supply – this motion gives evidence of that. Derek Thachuk, Cottam
100,000 in population, compared to the Ontario average of 40.3 active cases per 100,000. Over the same time period, Windsor-Essex also had the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in Ontario - at 101 cases per 100,000, compared to the Ontario average of 32.6 new cases per 100,000. Windsor-Essex had 16 residents hospitalized as of Friday, September 3. In Chatham-Kent, there
were 18 new cases in the community and eight people hospitalized. There were 13 active cases in Sarnia-Lambton, up two from the previous day. Past projections have shown that cases in Sarnia-Lambton spike two to three weeks behind other areas of the region. During the height of the third wave, Sarnia-Lambton had the highest cases in Ontario.
The vast majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients across the area are those who are not fully vaccinated. This is consistent with the provincial trend as well. The mandate does not include those with a legitimate medical exemption. The timeline has yet to be confirmed, while each hospital will be releasing a deadline for staff to become fully vaccinated.
ANNOUNCEMENT Dr. Robert McCormick Optometrist, Leamington Eyecare Dear Leamington, Wheatley and Tilbury patients, for the time being I am now only available at my Kingsville Eyecare Clinic to assist you with your eyecare and eyewear needs. We welcome you to call 519-325-0123 or 519-733-3560 to schedule an appointment or if you have questions.
Thank you for your continued support.
375 Main St. E., Kingsville www.kingsvilleeyecare.ca
519.733.3560
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