Safety first, local officials say
Peterborough could gain more flexibility in reopening the economy and services from COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns after Premier Doug Ford announced Friday that provincial officials are mulling a regional approach to reopening.
Peterborough has one of the lowest COVID-19 rates in the province. As of Thursday, Peterborough city and county and Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations had a rate of 56.1 cases per 100,000 people while the provincial average is 183.1 cases per 100,000 people.
With Toronto having almost two thirds of the cases in Ontario and some rural regions having little to none, the regional model would change rules for local businesses in serving customers and clients again.
“There may be more flexibility in Peterborough to move ahead with the different phases of recovery and to allow more service and businesses to be restored,” medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra said.
But with the Kawarthas being cottage country, the region will still need to deal with people coming up from infection hot spots such as Toronto.
“We had issues with differences in incidence rates for months now, this was an issue certainly with cottage owners coming from the GTA to their seasonal homes here in Peterborough,” Salvaterra said.
“We actually have been dealing with this for several weeks now and we have some recommendations and some advice that we have developed.”
Continued testing for the COVID-19 virus and safety procedures will remain key as the economy reopens, said Stuart Harrison, president and CEO of the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce.
“The safety and security of both employees and customers is being driven by the business owner and public health officials,” Harrison said.
“The protocols will be in place whether someone is coming from down the street or from out of town.”
Reopening the economy, even in a regional format, will come with more testing, he said, and that should be reassuring for people who might be worried about others who aren’t taking the COVID-19 threat seriously.
“We are encouraged that this idea of regional reopening is accompanied by an expansion in testing and tracing which is a key part to a successful reopening,” Harrison said.
Selwyn Township Mayor Andy Mitchell said he’s still concerned about what the plan will look like moving forward.
“Whatever plan is being suggested and going forward, it has to be designed in a way that it protects the health of our individual residents,” Mitchell added.
“That plan has to be looked at and commented on by medical professionals.”
Ford’s comments came on the same day that Jason Lake, owner of the Minden 50’s Diner on Highway 35 in Minden, defied the province’s state of emergency by reopening the restaurant to customers, risking a fine of up to $100,000 and imprisonment of up to a year in jail under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.