Warden McNamara welcomed the members of County Council, Administration and members of the public and delivered the following greeting:
Good evening,
I would like to begin by offering my condolences to the family and friends of those we’ve lost to COVID-19.
This pandemic has now claimed the lives of 401 Windsor and Essex County residents and this community collectively mourns that great loss.
It’s hard to believe it, but Monday will mark one year since I stood in these very chambers and declared a State of Emergency for the County of Essex in response to COVID-19.
So much has happened since then, both good and bad, but we have come together as a region and we have persevered.
We are still in the fight of our lives against an unseen enemy, but we are winning that fight.
Make no mistake. We are winning that fight and will continue to beat back COVID-19 with a mass vaccination campaign that has already seen 51,636 doses administered to Windsor and Essex County residents.
The pace of those vaccinations is only going to increase as the supply of vaccines ramps up. Our local municipalities have stepped up to ensure there are sites in the County ready to inoculate hundreds of thousands of residents.
Kudos to Essex-Windsor EMS Chief Bruce Krauter for spearheading that mass vaccination effort and kudos to the EMS paramedics who are now making house calls to bring the vaccine to our most vulnerable residents.
I can’t say enough about how the residents of Essex County responded to this pandemic. They have abided by health restrictions and guidelines even when it was difficult to do so and they have looked out for each other with compassion and empathy.
They have supported the small businesses that have long supported them and they have cheered on our first responders. Their resolve and resilience has given strength to us all.
And words just can’t do justice to the incredible work that has been done under incredibly trying circumstances by the employees of the County of Essex.
The staff at Sun Parlor Home have gone above and beyond keeping our most vulnerable residents safe and so have the paramedics with Essex-Windsor EMS.
These frontline heroes have donned PPE and plunged headlong into the unknown every day for a year, offering comfort and hope and most definitely saving lives.
The same can be said for our Infrastructure Services Department and the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority. They have continued to maintain essential operations and complete big-ticket infrastructure projects despite the restrictions of COVID-19. They have pivoted whenever necessary to continue delivering the quality services Essex County residents expect.
And the administrative staff of the County of Essex, the backbone of everything we do, have stood tall behind the scenes and moved mountains to keep everything running smoothly and efficiently.
This has definitely been a challenging year, but I’m optimistic we have reached a turning point in the fight of our lives. Let’s keep abiding by public health guidelines and let’s keep taking the fight to COVID-19. I’m looking forward to continued progress as we begin year number two. Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Please celebrate safely.