Warden lays blame on students for move to red zone

‘I don’t think the community’s going to forget this too easily’

Peterborough County Warden J. Murray Jones called it “extremely unfortunate” that the region is moving into the red control zone starting Monday following the largest local COVID-19 outbreak to date declared last weekend at the Severn Court student residence.

The outbreak happened after a party in the residence and Jones blames the students.

“It’s almost beyond words that these individuals had such little thought for the rest of us,” Jones said.

“How could anyone be so thoughtless? They need to look in the mirror and give their head a shake. I don’t think the community’s going to forget this too easily.”

Peterborough is currently in the yellow protect zone, with a few restrictions on operating hours and procedures for restaurants and bars, and remains under those measures until late Sunday night.

Moving to the red zone means people should only leave their homes for essential purposes, including work, school, grocery shopping, exercise and medical appointments — though the red zone restrictions stop short of wide-scale closures of businesses.

“As the number of variant cases spread, I am hoping that the red zone measures will provide our community with the extra protection we need to contain COVID-19 and keep our most vulnerable residents safe,” stated Peterborough Public Health medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra.

“There is a real risk that the variants linked to the local outbreaks could spread further out into the community, so I am urging everyone to continue doing their part to follow public health measures and help us avoid going into lockdown.”

It’s the first time since the pandemic began nearly a year ago that Peterborough has been placed in the red zone restrictions, apart from the two provincewide lockdowns early on during the pandemic and again between Dec. 26 and Feb. 16.

“Our community continues to follow the guidance of public health experts as we look toward the other side of this pandemic with the vaccination rollout getting ready to ramp up,” Mayor Diane Therrien stated. “We need to stay committed to the public health measures to help save lives. Stay safe, stay home when possible, and in all things be kind.”

By Friday night, some townships in the county had noted the impending change to the red zone, but only Cavan Monaghan Township had details on

how it will affect municipal services (township offices remain closed to the public, libraries will offer curbside services and township council meetings are on Zoom).

In the city, services such as transit, garbage/recycling collection and social services will continue unchanged. But there are changes to some other services, including:

City Hall

City hall will remain open for in-person services. Council and committee meetings will continue virtually.

Peterborough Library

The library will be offering curbside pickup services starting Tuesday. Limited access to public washrooms will be made available during library operating hours. The DelaFosse branch remains closed.