Mayor buys into the Premier's Road map. She wants to be crystal clear and transparent about the plans and specific behaviours being asked of the public

News 100 blueBy Staff

April 28th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Yesterday morning Premier Doug Ford set out what he called a Roadmap to get the Ontario economy back to how it traditionally operates.

This morning Mayor Meed Ward had the following comments on the position the Premier took.

Meed Ward H&S profile

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward

Yesterday Premier Ford and his team announced a road map to begin reopening Ontario with a focus on protection, reopening, and recovery. This is welcomed news for all Ontarians and a direct result of the hard work and sacrifices everyone has made to help successfully flatten the curve of COVID-19.

The City of Burlington is looking forward to implementing a similarly phased approach that aligns with the framework and guidelines being followed at the provincial level. This roadmap is about the how more than the when.

Ontario’s Chief Officer of Health has outlined three stages for opening workplaces and public spaces and permitting gatherings as time progresses. The criteria the Province will be using in their decision-making include:

• A consistent two-to-four week sustained decrease in the number of new daily COVID-19 cases;

• Sufficient acute and critical care capacity, including access to ventilators and ongoing availability of personal protective equipment (PPE);

• Approximately 90 per cent of new COVID-19 contacts are being reached by local public health officials within one day, with guidance and direction to contain community spread; and

• Ongoing testing of suspected COVID-19 cases, especially of vulnerable populations, to detect new outbreaks quickly

The federal government also indicated yesterday that reopening guidelines should include the capacity for testing, an adequate supply of PPE in place, and the continued medical capacity in place to handle a surge.

Mayor Meed Ward and Premier - Dec 2018

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward meets with Premier Doug Ford at a Joseph Brant hospital event

While no specific dates have yet been announced by the Province in their detailed framework, we know that with the closure of schools and provincial parks being extended to May 31st we have a slow and steady timeline ahead of us. City Hall and city facilities will remain closed through the end of June as previously announced. Burlington’s local businesses launched a campaign yesterday encouraging our community to continue to “Stay home so Burlington can get back to business”. In alignment with the Province and their future decisions related to lifting restrictions on essential services impacting the City, we will not rush this recovery at the expense of the progress we have made thus far.

Our number one priority in Burlington continues to be the health and well-being of our people, especially those who are most vulnerable.

As we formalize our plan with input from city leadership teams and council in May, we will partner closely with Halton Region Public Health so we can continue to closely monitor the level of risk being posed by COVID-19 throughout every stage of our plan.

Halton Region’s mayors, including Mayor Rick Bonnette, Mayor Gordon Krantz, Mayor Rob Burton and myself, have formed a partnership to work together on our respective plans. All four mayors have come together as the Halton Mayors Recovery Coordination Group and made the commitment to keep each other and Halton Region Chair Gary Carr apprised of decisions being considered in each municipality, share best practices, and coordinate our plans and timing.

In the weeks and months ahead, our commitment as a City is to be crystal clear and transparent about the plans and specific behaviours we are asking of the public, keep the community informed of evolving risks, and work diligently with our healthcare partners to track infection and continue to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

We have all made many sacrifices to flatten the curve here in Burlington and we must ensure they were not made in vain. For now, we must continue to stay home and follow the advice of health experts while we navigate this virus and plan the way forward. We will be cautious and careful in each step we take so that we can safely reopen our economy, manage risk, and keep our community healthy.

Fig 2

The curve for the Region of Halton is far from flattening.

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2 comments to Mayor buys into the Premier’s Road map. She wants to be crystal clear and transparent about the plans and specific behaviours being asked of the public

  • Penny Hersh

    It is my hope that when the time is right the first thing that goes back to the” new normal” is that elective surgeries, and all things medical start up.

    Haircuts and manicures can certainly wait.

    • While I agree on your haircuts vs surgery example. I have a concern a complicated “phased unlocking approach” pits members of society against each other. If we have space for some new infections, should we allow funerals or weddings, restaurants or gyms, play-dates for kids, or hair salons? This isn’t a medical question for medical experts; it’s just a question of what you think is more important. Seem to me this open ended approach will lead to endless social conflict.