Cottagers coming to area urged to isolate for 14 days after arrival
Peterborough COVID-19 cases hold steady at 91 as reopening measures near
Cottagers coming to the Peterborough area for the summer are being asked to isolate on their properties for 14 days upon arrival, said the medical officer of health, to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Dr. Rosana Salvaterra said at a virtual news conference from the Peterborough Public Health offices on King Street on Wednesday that the 14-day period was set because that’s the incubation period for the virus.
Cottagers may be arriving from larger urban centres where there is “higher incidence, and higher transmission rate” of COVID-19 than the Peterborough area.
“That travel is a concern,” she said, adding that drive-through testing is still available in areas in Peterborough County this week (at the community centres in Buckhorn on Thursday and in Millbrook on Friday).
The drive-thru clinic at the Kinsmen Civic Centre at Sherbrooke Street and Medical Drive is also expected to operate daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until at least Friday.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation held steady at 91, Peterborough Public Health reported Wednesday.
Of the 91 cases, 85 have been resolved and there were two earlier deaths, leaving four active cases.
There are no local institution
al outbreaks and about 11,100 people, or one in 13 residents in the area, have been tested.
Although some businesses are reopening Friday — daycares and restaurant patios, for instance — Salvaterra reminded people that there are still restrictions in place.
Daycares can have just 10 children and staff, for instance, and restaurant patios can have groups of people who live together eating together, Salvaterra said, “and not a birthday party of 10 people” who live in separate households, for instance.
Churches can also hold services starting this weekend, Salvaterra added, but the buildings must be filled at no more than 30 per cent capacity.
“We are still in a pandemic — and still in a state of emergency,” she said. “We are all still susceptible and can still transmit this virus to others.”
When asked whether she would recommend mandatory donning of a cloth mask for everyone when they leave the house, Dr. Salvaterra said not necessarily.
“Masks do have some benefit — but by no means are the benefits of masking as strong or as proven as physical distancing,” she said, adding that if there’s a surge in COVID-19 cases it will be due to a lack of respect for physical distancing guidelines rather than a lack of masks in public.
Mayor Diane Therrien said at the news conference that the city is still asking its residents to stay home if possible and to remain at least two metres apart from others when they leave home.
“The last thing anyone wants is to have a setback that puts us back to where we were a few months ago,” she said.
Municipal splash pads and beaches remain closed even in the hot weather, Therrien said, but there could be new announcements on reopenings soon.
She also said that there will be a route review soon for city transit to redesign some of the routes to decrease the number of people gathering at the main transit terminal on Simcoe Street to wait for a bus.
Passengers are entering the bus from the rear doors to increase the physical distance with the driver, and so the driver cannot collect a fare (meaning the bus has been free).
That won’t change for awhile, Therrien said.
“We need to make sure that all of our buses are outfitted with the proper, protective bio-barriers before we start collecting fares again — and that’s a bit of a ways off.”
Selwyn Mayor Andy Mitchell, the chair of the board of health, thanked Peterborough Paramedics and Peterborough Public Health for the drive-thru COVID testing that was taking place at the Lakefield Smith Community Centre on Wednesday.
One-day drive-thru clinics in the county are continuing:
á Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Buckhorn Community Centre, 1782 Lakehurst Rd.
á Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Cavan Monaghan Community Centre, near Millbrook at 986 Peterborough County Rd. 10.
á Monday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Asphodel-Norwood Community Centre, 88 Alma St., Norwood.
á Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Douro Community Centre, 2893 Highway 28, at the intersection of County Road 4 and Highway 28 in Douro-Dummer Township.
á June 17 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Otonabee Memorial Community Centre, 24 Fourth St. in Keene.
People with symptoms need to get tested through the Peterborough Regional Health Centre assessment centre, which operates daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 705-876-5086 to book an appointment.
Ontario Parks reopening
Ontario Parks will begin to reopen starting on Friday, the provincial government announced Wednesday.
Beaches and campsites will begin to reopen first, and roofed accommodations, park stores, visitor centres and sports fields will reopen gradually over the next few weeks.
Starting June 15, campers who were enrolled in the program that allows them to camp for the season will have access to their campsites at most participating provincial parks.
Starting June 22, campgrounds in locations that are starting Phase 2 of reopening will begin to reopen along with the washrooms and water taps in those parks.
Roofed accommodations such as yurts and rental cabins will be reopened over the next several weeks, as will the park stores and visitor centres.
Updates on available services and facilities are posted online at OntarioParks.com.