Hirji not rescinding tougher restrictions on restaurants
‘ We’re going to continue watching the data to see what it shows,’ acting medical officer of health says
Despite pressure from regional councillors and the local restaurant and hospitality industry, Niagara’s acting medical officer of health is standing by restrictions he imposed — for now.
Dr. Mustafa Hirji said the health department has received a recommendation unanimously supported by regional councillors during a special meeting Wednesday night asking him to rescind his order made under Section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act last week requiring that only people from the same household be seated together at restaurants.
The health department is taking council’s recommendations “under advisement as we go forward, but at this point we haven’t decided to change the order,” he said.
“We’re going to continue watching the data to see what it shows and will be continually reevaluating the need for the order.”
Hirji said he didn’t want to speculate on any misunderstanding regarding the intent of the orders, but he did get a sense “that some of the details of the order weren’t totally clear.”
For instance, Hirji said his orders were not intended to disrupt date nights for couples.
Hirji said advice from local, provincial and federal levels since early October has been to really tighten up social circles to not much beyond households.
“That’s what we were really trying to do, push that forward,” Hirji said.
But his orders also made allowances for limited interaction with people from outside their households.
“Obviously, couples who are in an emotional relationship and are key supports for each other but may not yet be living together, the goal isn’t to disrupt that,” he said. “Likewise, if a family member is taking care of an elderly relative, we don’t necessarily want to disrupt them from having close contact.”
Hirji said the health department has been working to clear up any misunderstandings about the orders through social media, “and we’re going to continue finding ways to get the message out.”
Although Hirji said he would love to find ways of further assisting struggling businesses, “I don’t know what there is we can do that wouldn’t be something that would detract from the order and taking on the health risks associated with
that.
“I’d be happy to entertain anything that might bubble up that might be helpful to them,” he added.
Niagara’s COVID-19 cases grew by 20 on Thursday, including some that stemmed from people dining together. And although in those cases the infection was transmitted in a private setting rather than at a restaurant, he said it still supports his concern that four people sitting at a table together can potentially infect each other.
And from there, those individuals can “go off and spread infection in their own social circles.”
Through contact tracing of past cases of the virus, the health department identified 15 interactions among patrons at restaurants where Hirji believes the virus was passed among diners at the same table.
Hirji faced criticism from some participants at Wednesday’s special council meeting, concerned about the emotional impact the orders may have. It’s a concern Hirji shares. He said a recent study by the Canadian Mental Health Association showing increased mental illness among “pretty much across every group in society ... as a result of the pandemic.”
“In Niagara, we’ve actually seen some of the recent months have been some of the highest in terms of opioid overdose deaths that we’ve seen in the last few years,” he said.
At Wednesday’s meeting, councillors also unanimously supported calls for an “aggressive communication” strategy targeting demographics that are causing the increase in cases, for public health to work with the local municipalities and Niagara Regional Police on strict enforcement of efforts to control the virus, and for any fines issued as a result of violations to be published publicly.