Lockdown extension disappointing – The North Bay Nugget

Breadcrumb Trail Links

'We need to trust our medical professionals' - McDonald

Author of the article:

Publishing date:

An extension to the lockdown for the North BayandParry Sound regions is disappointing news, but North Bay Mayor Al McDonald says he is more disappointed we dont have a vaccine available to allow us to get back to a life closer to normal.

McDonald said Friday afternoon, after it was announced the lockdown for the area would be extended, its his understanding the reason is the appearance of a variant to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The province announced Friday afternoon the shutdown, stay-at-home order and all existing public health and workplace safety measures will remain in effect until March 8 for this region, as well as the Toronto and Peel public health regions.

All three were previously scheduled to come out of the shutdown by Feb. 22.

I think (the local and provincial health authorities) made the best decision in the best interests of keeping people safe, McDonald said. I trust they are making the right decisions for all of us.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Do we like the fact they are extending it? We are all disappointed it had to be extended. But we need to keep our focus on keeping people safe.

McDonald said he knows its tough on businesses, which, with some exceptions, will have to remain closed for another two weeks.

But he urges business owners to hang in as best you can.

We are doing what we can and we are encouraging our citizens to shop local, support local business . . . and if you do shop online, shop locally. Do whatever you can to support local businesses.

And while residents of the region are suffering lockdown fatigue after 11 months of the pandemic, McDonald noted that until the variant identified as the B.1.351 or South African variant was identified in the area, we had the second lowest or lowest infection rate in the province.

We need to trust our medical professionals, McDonald said. We have to trust their advice and act accordingly.

But the extension puts a strain on our business community, a North Bay restaurateur says.

John Lechlitner said the two-week extension is disappointing, after the North Bay-Parry Sound area was one of three in the province still under the lockdown.

Its not good, but it is what it is, Lechlitner said.

We have got to do our best to get the (COVID-19) numbers down.

What I was hoping for was some sign of hope for the region, he said. If that takes another week or two weeks . . . Its a difficult pill to swallow.

Lechlitner said he accepts that it is a science-based decision, but its still disappointing.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

All I can say is stay positive, Michelle Trudeau, chair of Downtown North Bay, said.

The decision to extend the lockdown is not surprising, but it is very disappointing. Its affecting us all.

One of her businesses, Michelles Framemaker and Gallery, is closed through the lockdown, while her other business, the Opera Bakery Cafe, still has its doors open.

We cant do much business, if any, because of the shutdown at the Framemaker, she says.

It hurts. It hurts everything across the board. Our customers, our community, our businesses, our employees.

Im lucky because (the Opera Bakery) is a food business, and we all need to eat. But until things open up again and we get back to work, a little business like this, it depends on shoppers downtown.

Many restaurants have seen business almost collapse over the past year, with sales down as much as 70 per cent, according to one downtown restaurateur.

Were going to survive, Trudeau says. Were hardy. One of the things that amazes me is how creative our customers have been to support us.

Well get through this. I have every confidence.

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Go here to read the rest:

Lockdown extension disappointing - The North Bay Nugget