THUNDER BAY – A provincial lockdown reportedly set to be announced for Dec. 24 may be the right move for Thunder Bay, says Mayor Bill Mauro.
Indicators in the Thunder Bay District, such as case numbers and test positivity, continued to align with the orange-restrict stage under Ontario’s COVID-19 response framework, medical officer of health Dr. Janet DeMille stated as recently as Thursday.
However, reported plans for a temporary province-wide move to grey-lockdown - two stages higher than orange - presumably had scientific backing, and could help tamp down a worrying local situation, Mauro said Sunday.
“We have to follow the science,” he said. “Things are changing so rapidly. We’ll have to assume the premier is taking his advice from medical professionals and from the scientists, and perhaps this is a signal they’re aware of things changing dramatically.”
On Thursday, the Ontario Hospital Association called for four-week lockdowns in all public health units where the weekly incidence rate was 40 or more per 100,000.
That rate sat at exactly 40 for the Thunder Bay District for the week of Dec. 6 to 12, the most recent data available. It had reached 47.4 the previous week.
Mauro underscored the seriousness of that local situation Sunday, saying it could justify a move to grey.
“For us in Thunder Bay, we’re so close already to being in red – the distinction between being on the high range of the orange and the low range of the red, we’re there. So I’m not sure how much of a difference it makes.”
The mayor stressed he would wait for confirmation of provincial plans Monday, when Premier Doug Ford is scheduled to make an announcement at 1 p.m.
Still, the municipal government took reports of the looming lockdown from multiple outlets Sunday seriously enough to convene an emergency meeting of senior staff for Monday morning.
Staff have already reviewed how the different stages in the provincial framework would impact municipal operations, he said, but would look more closely at how to operationalize and communicate them to the general public.
“I think it’s fair to say [city administration is] ready,” he said. “There are contingency plans in place depending on what stage we’re at.”
A move to grey would involve the closure of most non-essential businesses and the prohibition of indoor dining.
Many city facilities would have been shut down in any case over the holidays, Mauro noted, lessening the impact - particularly if, as reported, the lockdown is shortened to two weeks in the north.
However, operations like the Canada Games Complex would likely be impacted. Mauro expected transit to continue operation.
