UPDATED: HPE Public Heath medical officer beefing up local COVID-19 precautions in face of reopening

By James Tubb

BELLEVILLE – As the Hastings Prince Edward health region heads into a green zone, public health officials are putting new measures to restrict outside visitors from coming into the area.

Dr. Piotr Oglaza, the medical officer with the Hastings Prince Edward County Public Health Unit, announced Tuesday new restrictive measures limiting businesses to serving people within the region. For those living outside the area, they will be limited.  It hopes to provide enhanced protection to the local community as the region returns to the Green-Prevent Zone.

These measures are:

• Bookings for hotels, personal service settings (spas, hair salons), and dine-in food services shall be accepted only for individuals residing in regions where the stay at home order has been lifted (exceptions will include booking accommodation for individuals who are travelling to our region for essential reasons as defined by the Ontario’s Stay at Home Order);
• Dine-in services shall be limited to six people per table;
• Contact information shall be required for all patrons attending local food service establishments and personal service settings;
• Retail businesses shall be required to maintain/post a safety plan and wear appropriate face coverings or personal protective equipment.
• Retail businesses shall not play music at a volume any louder than a normal conversation. Patrons shall not be permitted to line up inside a retail setting or line up/congregate outside a retail setting unless they are wearing a face covering.

“We are incredibly grateful for the ongoing work and sacrifices being made by local residents, businesses, and other establishments to protect one another and keep case rates low in our region,” said Dr. Oglaza in the media release.

“While many businesses and establishments will reopen tomorrow, we must remember this is not a return to normal. In order to maintain our progress, all residents are asked to remain thoughtful about daily choices, as our actions can have a huge impact on efforts to stop the spread of illness.”

Dr. Oglaza is asking business owners to question anyone making bookings about where they are from. There are no penalties or fines attached for any individuals that potentially go against to this order and it is meant to be an honour system.

Public health has said that businesses have the right to go “above-and-beyond” with their screenings and also have the right to turn people away with reason.

Gathering limits will remain as they were in the green zone before the lockdown: 25 people outdoors and 10 people indoors, unless it is organized by a business or organization, then it is up to 50 people allowed indoors and 100 people outdoors with social distancing. Sports and recreation facilities, cinemas, and meeting and event spaces will be allowed to reopen with a capacity limited to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.

The Hastings Prince Edward region will be one of three areas in Eastern Ontario that will see businesses re-open for in-person shopping.

Premier Doug Ford made the announcement Monday at Queen’s Park, saying the government will be taking a phased-in approach to reopening the province.

The province is going back to its colour-coded system, which Ontario used to limit the virus’s spread before the province went into lockdown on Dec. 26. The green, yellow, orange, red and grey levels all come with various levels of restrictions, with grey being the most strict.

Jill Raycroft, chief executive officer for the Belleville Chamber of Commerce, said the re-opening of Belleville businesses is welcomed. She was grateful and proud of people’s efforts in the region during the lockdown, resulting in sufficiently low numbers of cases.

“We have seen a great deal of investment in PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) from our local businesses and I think that is very telling for us keeping our numbers low,” Raycroft said.

In the first phase, Ontario’s state of emergency will expire on Wednesday for three regions: Kingston Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health, Hastings Prince Edward Public Health and Renfrew County and District Health Unit.

As Belleville businesses can open a week before other areas, the potential for people travelling from outside the region to shop in-person raises some concerns.

For Raycroft, she said the health and safety protocols and the stay-at-home orders still in place by public health should keep everyone where they are supposed to be.

“Safety protocols are made to ward off people travelling. I don’t think we should be concerned,” Raycroft said. “The protocol is there to keep us safe and if we don’t trust that, why are we even opening?”

The rest of the province will reopen on Feb. 16, except major COVID-19 hotspots like Toronto, Peel and York region.  The stay-at-home order will stay in effect in those places until at least Feb. 22.

Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson reflected the same belief in the health protocols put in place by public health to keep those who don’t live in the region at home.

“The province is relying on people to follow the stay-at-home order and respect Prince Edward County,” he said. “It’s a matter of people’s behaviour. Businesses don’t want to go through the open and closing that we have for a year now.”

The government has also introduced an “emergency brake” that allows the province’s top doctor, Dr. David Williams, to move a region back into lockdown if cases spike immediately.

Officials updated the colour-tiered framework to allow for what it calls a safer approach to retail. As a result, limited in-person shopping in “grey-lockdown” zones will be permitted with public health and safety measures, such as the limited capacity of 25 percent in most retail settings.

“Let me be clear: if we see the numbers spike again, we are prepared to take further action as necessary,” Ford said during his press conference on Monday.

A provincial lockdown was imposed in late December and was followed by the state of emergency and a stay-at-home order that took effect on Jan. 14 as COVID-19 rates surged.

The local health unit reported four new cases of the virus on Monday and there are now 10 active cases of COVID-19 in Hastings Prince Edward.

The province as a whole reported 1,022 new COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths on Tuesday.

More to come.

An explainer outlining the updates to Ontario’s colour-coded system and the COVID-19 regulations as the province re-opens can be found here.