Midland's senior staffer pleaded with residents to stay put unless going out for essentials.
The call came from David Denault, chief administrative officer, at a recent council meeting in response to a question by Coun. Jon Main.
"I guess the biggest concern for everyone in town is the hospital (Georgian Bay General Hospital) outbreak," said Main. "When news broke, I tried to reach out to everyone at the hospital to send well wishes. You know how serious it is when the hospital is sending out communications saying, we urge you not to go out unless it's for essentials. What can we do to help the hospital?"
Denault said all healthcare professionals he has spoken to have put forward an appeal to residents to take the pandemic seriously.
"Please, limit your involvement (with crowds)," he said, adding if he could paraphrase his conversations with those in the healthcare system, it would be, "They are exhausted just getting ready every day, putting their PPE (personal protective equipment) on and cleaning. All of that has left them exhausted, let alone dealing with the patients they have to.
"Anything we can do to minimize the impact on the healthcare system...I know it's not easy to not be active, but do it."
Main then asked about testing.
"Are we hearing anything else from the health unit or the hospital about testing even if you're asymptomatic?" he said. "I'm assuming it's the same recommendation we've had all along to go get tested if we've been in touch with someone infected?"
Denault said he hadn't heard anything about additional testing.
"I think the instructions are still, get tested if you think you need to be tested," he added. "Let's not use the fragile capacity we have in the system to get a test to make you feel better. If there's a reason for you to get tested, make it happen. I think almost 87% of the testing is done and the results are delivered in one day. They're doing it quite rapidly, but it's a fragile system."
Denault said that to his knowledge, the government is adding more contact tracers to be able to warn everyone in a timely fashion.
"But to get through this winter and Christmas is going to be a really important part for us," he said, "We've all heard the vaccine news, which is optimistic. Hopefully, rapid testing is something else we can do to alleviate the situation. But to get to those two factors, we really need to get through this time."
Mayor Stewart Strathearn asked about how a move into the red zone would affect the town's services.
Denault said the biggest impact of going to the red zone is a restriction on the number of people that can be in enclosed or outdoor spaces.
"The amount of people you can have at the rec centre will be restricted," he noted. "It may be restricted to the point where some of the leagues may not find it viable to continue."
As for residents visiting town hall, said Denault, the decision to go to a by-appointment system is still under discussion with the control group.
"We want people to know that they can still get their services through an appointment, rather than being out and about socializing," he said.
Hearing all this, Deputy Mayor Mike Ross asked if there was a way for the town to show its appreciation for staff at Georgian Bay General Hospital.
"Can we send a gift basket or a fruit basket up to the hospital from the people of Midland?" he said. "I don't know if we have the budget or council will to do this, but it would be nice to send something as a gesture."
Denault said that staff could make it happen.
"I went on the (hospital) website today and I saw a little sidebar there that I could click on and send a complimentary message to staff," he added. "It resonates with people just to see those thank yous. That means something. Everyone does appreciate our essential workers. Those things help but the best thing we can do is to try and stay virus free."
