By Kaitlyn Clark
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—Shanker Nesathurai, Medical Officer of Health for Haldimand and Norfolk, announced May 4, 2020 that there had been no new cases of COVID-19 reported in the health district for the prior three days. The total confirmed cases remained at 196 for the district as of press time on May 5. While some restrictions have begun lifting, Nesathurai believes it is still too early to say we’re in the clear and wants residents to remain vigilant.
Trails and parks opened locally for walk-through access and more businesses were given the go-ahead to operate by the Province, but Nesathurai is standing strong on a contentious order that bans cottagers and temporary residents.
Those with primary residences from outside the health district have not been allowed to reside at their secondary or vacation homes within Haldimand and Norfolk since April 23. This ban does not apply to residents of the two counties if they own a second property within the health district, as Nesathurai says they carry a low risk already being in the community. There is also an exemption in place if the secondary residence is needed to allow someone to self-isolate, but this requires permission from the Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU). Additionally, this order does not stop owners from taking steps to care for the property, only from residing there.
The intent of this order, Nesathurai says, is to reduce travel to Haldimand and Norfolk from outside regions. He pointed to other measures by the Province with the same intent of reducing travel, such as restricted access to trailers, recreational park facilities, and campgrounds, along with the closing of beaches and piers, including for fishing. Provincial health officials have previously warned residents not to flock to their secondary residences during the pandemic, particularly because of the strain it could put on small town resources, but this was only a recommendation.
“One of the things we’re very concerned about is secondary spikes or secondary increases in COVID-19, which is particularly important in rural areas as restrictions are relaxed and the weather might get more amenable to travelling,” said Nesathurai. “We’re particularly concerned in Haldimand and Norfolk counties because we’re relatively poorly resourced for hospital and physician resources. In fact, there are only five intensive care unit beds for the entire health unit district.”
On the opening of trails and parks locally, Nesathurai said he agreed with this decision because it is a low risk activity so long as it is local people who only use the areas to walk through, keeping distance from others and not congregating. He is also happy that this is an activity that betters quality of life for children and families as something they can do together, because he believes that is a priority group.
HALDIMAND/NORFOLK—This chart summarizes the number of cases per day since the identification of the first case. Of note, there is some variability in the cases reported on any particular day (dark green bars). The light green line represents the cumulative frequency; this is the number of total cases as the pandemic progresses. For up-to-date statistics locally, visit hnhu.org/covid-19. —Courtesy of the Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit.
Nesathurai said that while “the risk is never zero”, the main goal of the public health management plan is “to recognize risk and minimize it to the best of our ability”.
“Haldimand Norfolk has been significantly affected by COVID-19. Thirty people have died in these past six weeks or so. Just to put that in context, more people died of COVID-19 in this health district in these past six weeks than all the people who died in car crashes for the entire year of 2019 in Haldimand Norfolk,” continued Nesathurai. “This is a beautiful health district. It has wonderful parks, recreational amenities, and the shoreline. Under normal circumstances we would welcome tourists and visitors, but under these circumstances … we really want to discourage people from coming for non-essential reasons.”
Despite the reasons given, many are still questioning if the current restrictions regarding temporary homes are necessary. Karen Deans, a Long Point seasonal property owner and President of the Long Point Ratepayer’s Association, believes it’s unfair that they should be barred from a property they own and pay taxes for. Things were further confused for owners of the temporary residences since notification of the order was delayed as time was taken to write an explanatory cover letter and mail it directly to those affected. Nesathurai admitted he had hoped the process would have gone faster, but that he felt it was important to give an explanation. Some businesses that serve temporary residents have also voiced concerns on the additional loss of revenue they face, especially those in a tourist industry with limited time to make ends meet.
Mayors of both counties have publicly admitted having concerns with the orders. In an April 29 update, Haldimand Mayor Ken Hewitt stated that these orders are “difficult to report” as telling people to stay away “goes against everything we normally stand for”. However, while Hewitt is hoping things will open up more soon, he ultimately supported the medical officer of health: “While I struggled at the time with this decision I do appreciate (Nesathurai’s) reasons…. Unfortunately, in an effort to prevent those from outside coming here, it catches those that are living within the community as well.”
“In a pandemic, the public health directives far outweigh what any one person thinks or believes what their rights are,” continued Hewitt. “Asking everyone to make some small sacrifices so that not just a few can enjoy their vices, but everyone can reap the rewards of our collective efforts is the goal of the public health and ours as a County.”
Premier Doug Ford was questioned by reporters at Queen’s Park about Nesathurai’s order. Ford said he planned to have a “heart-to-heart” with the mayors of areas that have a high level of cottagers and would speak with the medical officer of health as well. He added, “There is only so long you can hold back taxpayers from going to their cottages.”
However, prior to Ford’s remarks and in response to questioning about the comments from local mayors, Nesathurai stated that the Board of Health is “apolitical”, adding, “(We are) not guided by political influences, but by what we believe to be the best to help the population that we have.”
Nesathurai noted that he has had many conversations with those affected by his decisions: “We share the disappointment that one can’t use secondary or vacation homes, and many times people when we have dialogue understand the rationale…. I also receive comments from people who are deathly afraid of more cases and want even more assertive steps.”
Questions were also raised on the HNHU’s ability to police this order. Nesathurai said he believes most people will follow the order “even if they don’t like it because they recognize it is the right thing to do” or because they recognize following rules to be part of their “civic participation” like paying your taxes. He said his first step for any non-compliance is to call and speak with those involved directly to “convince them”, and he admitted that it would be “complicated” to enforce this particular order: “If it went to enforcement action there would be a judicial process and we would have our legal counsel advise us.”
Despite the efforts of HNHU and both counties to curb non-essential travel to the region and mass gatherings within it, HNHU received about 50 calls to their enforcement hotline this past weekend. Matt Terry, Director of Corporate Communications for Norfolk, said on May 4, “about half of (these calls) were in regard to mass gatherings, like at Port Dover”. Hundreds of bikers descended on the lakeshore town, travelling through various other areas of the region along the way, over the weekend. These visitors could be seen gathering together at various restaurants and parking lots to enjoy the pleasant weather. Mayor Crystal Chopp called the sight “awful” and “disheartening” in a CHCH interview. Terry said that no tickets were issued over the weekend “as voluntary compliance has been effective so far, (but) if we continue to see the sort of gatherings in Port Dover and elsewhere … that may have to change.”
The road to recovery
Anson Place in Hagersville, home to Haldimand Norfolk’s most significant outbreak of COVID-19, had no new cases or COVID-19 related deaths to report as of press time. Lisa Roth, Executive Director, did announce some new resident deaths but said these were all unrelated to the virus.
As of press time, Anson Place had a total of 72 confirmed cases and of those 27 had passed away due to complications from the virus. While re-testing was ongoing of residents to potentially mark them as recovered, they were still awaiting the second round of results to confirm.
Nesathurai noted that approximately 70 employees had been working under an isolation plan in which they only travelled from home to work and back, minus trips to get gas; this restriction has been lifted. Nesathurai expects staff will still remain cognizant of avoiding non-essential travel, as is expected for all residents.
Edgewater Gardens in Dunnville has been testing all of its residents again as a precautionary measure based on recommendations from the Ministry of Health. As of press time, all 17 residents with completed tests came back negative.
Haldimand County announced it was re-opening parks and trails for resident walk-through use on May 1. Residents who walk or cycle on the trails are expected to maintain a two-metre distance from others, groups of more than five people remains prohibited, and people are not permitted to gather, picnic, or congregate in the parks.
“The decision to re-open trails is largely due to the efforts of residents who have been following public health guidelines and doing their part to flatten the curve. Both counties are grateful for the public’s cooperation,” read the release. “The more diligently everyone practices social distancing, the sooner everyone will be able to get back to the activities they enjoy most.”
The parking lots of trailheads and parks are expected to remain closed to discourage large volumes of people traveling to these areas, particularly those who live elsewhere.
This opening appears to be the first step locally towards some semblance of normalcy. Mayor Hewitt stated April 29 that the County is preparing future steps as well, “Haldimand County is currently developing an economic recovery response plan to help our local economy. Any assistance we can provide our business to hit the ground running is crucial. The communities that are best prepared are the ones that will recover the quickest and Haldimand is, and will, be poised to be there.”
This work includes getting capital projects ready for tender or construction as that industry “will be a primary economic driver”, said Hewitt, adding that they are also preparing for coming provincial and federal stimulus packages.
Updates
May 6, 2020 – Haldimand Numbers
The total cases for Haldimand remains at 196, with 30 deaths and 56 recoveries.
