A federal government has announced $4.2 million in funding for a new voluntary isolation site in Windsor-Essex, Ontario..On Monday, Irek Kusmierczyk, parliamentary secretary to the minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion, announced funding to support the site..According to Kusmierczyk, the funding will go to Essex County for a isolation site for temporary foreign agri-workers in the Windsor-Essex region. The site will contain up to 50 rooms, and will operate until March 31, 2023..The site was previously given $4.8 million for the same purpose, with funding lasting until June 30, 2022..“As Essex continues to welcome thousands of incoming agricultural workers in the coming weeks and months, this critical federal funding will provide spaces for those who are unable to isolate safely in the community,” Kusmierczyk said..According to Kusmierczyk, the workers tend to live in close accommodations and work in congregate settings, which makes it difficult to isolate. The site was previously operated by the City of Windsor and is now being administered and operated by the County of Essex.."Protecting communities from COVID-19 and helping to stop its spread continues to be a priority for our government," said Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos.."The operation of this safe voluntary isolation site in Windsor-Essex is essential to help protect temporary foreign workers and the community from the spread of COVID-19 and variants of concern.".Since the fall of 2020, the federal government has spent $100 million into its Safe Voluntary Isolation Sites Program (SVISP). They have provided funding to build sites in Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia..SVISP has supported over 63 sites in 50 communities since it was established in 2020. To date, over 20,000 people have gone through one of the sites..The first COVID isolation site to become operational was in Toronto in December 2020.
