Tougher provincial regulations that require the wearing of masks and face coverings in all indoor settings have resulted in Peterborough Public Health rescinding the mandatory mask requirement it issued locally on August 1st.
During her weekly media briefing held Wednesday (October 14), Medical Officer of Health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra noted the new provincial rules “are equivalent or stronger” to her directive, adding “All establishments are advised to comply with the masking requirements that are outlined in the provincial legislation.”
The provincial regulations, issued October 2nd, mandate the use of masks or face coverings in all public indoor settings, such as businesses, facilities and workplaces, and apply to staff, patrons and visitors. Apartment or condominium commons spaces, places of worship, commercial establishments, offices, and public and private transit vehicles all fall under the tougher requirement.
“A physical barrier alone, like plexiglas, may not provide an exemption to the wearing of face coverings,” said Dr. Salvaterra. “For staff to be exempted from wearing a face covering, they must also be situated in an area that is not accessible to the public — with the two-metre distancing maintained between all people at all times.”
“This means many service counter staff will now be required to wear a face covering regardless of whether a physical barrier is present,” she added. “This will also be the case in retail establishments, food premises, and grocery stores.”
Peterborough Public Health already sent out a notice to this effect to the local business community on Tuesday (October 13), which both the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce and the Kawartha Chamber of Commerce & Tourism shared with their members.
Dr. Salvaterra adds the stronger requirements will be enforced by the Peterborough Police Service, the OPP, and public health inspectors — with failure to comply with the requirements of an emergency order resulting in a set fine of $750.
In addition, all workplaces are required to screen all staff and visitors for COVID-19 symptoms.
Peterborough Public Health’s adoption of the new provincial directive comes at a time when local COVID-19 numbers have shown marked improvement.
As of Wednesday morning, the local catchment area of Peterborough city and county and Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations had seen a total of 131 positive cases with just one case active — down from eight active cases just one week ago. In addition, earlier outbreaks at Fairhaven long-term care home and Adam Scott Collegiate have been declared over.
Meanwhile, across Ontario, 721 new COVID-19 cases were reported Wednesday morning with no new deaths resulting. The rolling seven-day average of new province-wide cases is now at 781, up significantly from 605 reported last week.
In his comments during today’s briefing, Selwyn mayor and local board of health chair Andy Mitchell spoke specifically to hunt camps and the need for hunters to minimize infection opportunities.
“The safest way to hunt this year is to avoid camp and limit your hunting to day trips only,” said Mayor Mitchell, with Dr. Salvaterra adding “Any time you have people gathering to eat together or sleep together you’re setting up the perfect conditions for COVID to be transmitted. Tenting separately and preparing meals separately would also help reduce the risk.”
With the Thanksgiving long weekend now in the rear view mirror, Dr. Salvaterra noted how well the community did, in terms of following guidelines, will be clearer in a few weeks’ time.
“We expect to see some cases related to Thanksgiving celebrations, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the number will be minimal here,” she said.
As for Halloween and trick-or-treating plans for local children, Dr. Salvaterra said public health guidance has not yet been developed.
“It’s only October 14 and there’s still two weeks to go but there can be a lot of change in two weeks,” she explained. “By then we’ll see the impact of Thanksgiving. We’re going to wait to see where we are at that time and we will take that into consideration.”
