THUNDER BAY – The medical officer of health at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit says seeing parts of southern Ontario roll back into Phase 2 of COVID-19 restrictions could be an eye-opener for residents of Northern Ontario.
The province on Friday announced targeted measures in Ottawa, Toronto and Peel, which puts at least a 28-day halt on indoor dining and closes gyms, cinemas, casinos, performing arts centres and racing venues.
People living in those areas are also being asked to only leave their homes for essential purposes and limit travel to other regions of the province, despite their being no travel restrictions in place.
Dr. Janet DeMille said Thunder Bay district isn’t there yet, but the rising numbers have her concerned. Ontario on Friday reported a record 939 cases and five new deaths, but it won’t take much for the numbers to grow here too. One new case was reported locally on Friday.
Moving back a stage would be significant, but it would look different than the first set of lockdowns, when the pandemic first arrived.
“We have a lot of data and a better data system right now, so if we started to see that people going to gym facilities, that there was spread happening in gym facilities, whether it was here or in another area, you might have very targeted measures for those facilities where there is evidence of spread,” DeMille said.
“I think we can very much do things differently, from a regional approach. We don’t have to necessarily do a very broad-based closure or limitations on businesses or various workplaces. It is going to be very targeted, where there is evidence of spread having happened.”
DeMille said it’s not only what’s happening in the GTA or Ottawa, but also what’s happening in any other jurisdiction.
The public has a huge role to play, following physical distance and hand-washing guidelines, while also observing strict gathering limits.
“One person with COVID can result in a number of people getting infected. They then go to their workplace, their kids go to school and then all of a sudden you have a significant number of cases starting from really one particular gathering. That’s what we really need to avoid at this time,” DeMille said.
It includes the Thanksgiving weekend, a traditional gathering time for family and friends.
DeMille urged the public to keep their celebrations small, within social circles, and to avoid traveling outside of Northwestern Ontario if at all possible.
“People normally invite family, friends and extended family to their homes and have a turkey dinner or whatever, to celebrate Thanksgiving. That kind of activity would be a risk, because if somebody was there with maybe mild symptoms and they had COVID, they could spread it to a number of people at that gathering,” DeMille said.
“Ideally people just stick to their normal household members. If you want to get together with others or connect, connect virtually.”
