KENORA, Ont. – The City of Kenora has declared a state of emergency in response to rising COVID-19 case counts, requesting provincial assistance to manage the situation.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the municipality did not specify exactly what supports were needed, simply saying the declaration came in response to "the COVID-19 outbreak in Kenora."
The city was not immediately able to respond to a request for comment from TBNewswatch.
There were 53 active COVID-19 cases in the Kenora area as of Tuesday, accounting for over half of the Northwestern Health Unit's 102 total cases. Six NWHU residents were in hospital with the virus, though the agency doesn't break that figure down by region.
"This is a significant step and emphasizes the urgency of the situation in Kenora and that the community needs to act now to help reduce the spread," the city stated, urging residents to follow public health precautions like masking and distancing, get vaccinated, and stay home if they showed any symptoms.
"While many people in our community work tirelessly to maintain essential services for you, you need to respect those people and keep them safe," the city said. "Your job is to stay home as much as possible, practice social-distancing, and to strictly follow guidelines and mandates to self-isolate. We need to do everything we can to stop the spread of this outbreak in our community and help our health care providers deal with this surge of COVID-19 patients."
The declaration of emergency made under Ontario's Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act was recommended by the city's municipal emergency control group (MECG), the city said.
