Local case counts are decreasing, vaccination rates are increasing, and Dr. Charles Gardner wants to keep it that way.
The region’s medical officer of health said the people of Simcoe-Muskoka should stay home during the Victoria Day weekend, and anyone thinking of visiting the region should cancel their plans.
"People need to stay close to home," said Gardner during a media briefing on May 18.
“We need to continue to abide by the stay-at-home order,” said Gardner. “In the past, we have seen an increase in cases associated with holiday weekends. So it’s important for people to take to heart that message.”
The weekly incidence rate for new COVID cases reported by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is about 56 cases per 100,000 people in a week. That’s down from 73 cases per 100,000 during the first week of May.
Gardner acknowledged the region has made progress in reduced case rates, but noted there’s a long way to go.
“Certainly we want ongoing success into the summer, both to protect people but also to have a much better quality of life in the summer,” said the doctor.
That higher quality of life, according to the top doc, includes some outdoor social gathering.
“A good summer for me would be that we avoid a fourth wave, that we manage to bring down the case count low enough that we can start to open up the outdoor amenities, but also, if we’re very fortunate, to open up businesses … such as outdoor dining,” said Gardner.
He said the warm weather of the summer season presents a good opportunity because it’s easier to enjoy outdoor activities.
“If we can get to the point where we can allow something in the way of social gathering outdoors … I think that would go a long way to improving our quality of life and our mental and physical wellbeing,” said Gardner.
There have been calls from the public, petitioning the province to allow outdoor amenities like golf courses, tennis courts, and boat launches to reopen even with the current stay-at-home order in place.
Recently Barrie city council urged the province to lift restrictions on outdoor amenities like basketball courts, golf courses, and sports fields.
“I think it’s understandable that people would want that,” said Gardner. “Those are enjoyable things, this is a time of year in which it becomes much more attractive to do those things, and we know that outdoor activity is much safer than indoor activity.”
Still, Gardner said it was important to use caution before opening things. He said clubhouses should remain closed and distancing and mask use should continue if those amenities are reopened.
“I think we need a clear framework for this province … about exactly how we will open up,” said Gardner.
He wants to see the province looking at geographic regions larger than individual health units, and said restrictions applied province-wide are most effective as they discourage travel between regions to find open amenities.
“To me, we need that framework and we need to communicate it so people understand it so we can satisfy people’s questions about when we can open,” said Gardner.
The current stay-at-home order is in place until June 2. Prior to the order, the provincial government was using a colour-coded response framework that applied restrictions per health unit region based on several metrics including case spread, incidence rate, hospital capacity and health unit capacity.
Officials have not said whether the province will return to that colour-coded framework or use something else for reopening.
