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Mayor’s Message on COVID-19 – April 7, 2020

Mayor’s Message on COVID-19 – April 7, 2020

To begin, a quick comparison of the numbers from a week ago:

  • Cases in Canada, from 7,774 to now 16,667
  • Cases in Ontario, from 1,966 to now 4,726

While clearly the numbers have more than doubled, there is some evidence in at least a few parts of our country that we may be starting to level off the curve of increasing infections.

Manitoulin has not gained any confirmed cases, which I hope is in part a reflection of the steps we have all taken to physically distance and stay at home as much as possible.

Your Council and staff continue to be involved in regularly scheduled calls and Zoom meetings to keep current with the best advice from our medical professionals and government officials.

All current best medical world predictions suggest that we are facing a long haul before this pandemic subsides to a more manageable level. In the meantime, the day-to-day business of your municipality cannot grind to a halt. We have been forced, out of necessity, to dramatically alter how we do things and temporarily shut down access to all public spaces.

I would like to update everyone briefly on the current status of a couple of ongoing projects within our township:

  • the Waterfront project engineering and tendering is progressing as best it can. While the province has shut down most construction sites in Ontario, it is our hope that by the time we might be in a position to commence work, this Order will have changed;
  • In spite of a dry spring to date and a lack of significant snowfall this winter, Lake Kagawong water level is, as of yesterday, very near maximum, which is where we try to start each spring.

In closing, this is a time of great uncertainty for virtually everyone worldwide. There has never been a time where compassion and tolerance is more vital. Social media has been a great medium to share positive messages and has also proven long ago to be a medium for bullying and fear-mongering. There will be ample time when this pandemic is over to provide constructive criticism on what was done right and what needs to be improved upon in the future. The definition of ‘tolerant’ is “showing willingness to allow existence of opinions or behaviours that one does not necessarily agree with.” For now, I urge everyone to remain calm and tolerant. We have many positives to reflect on and we will get through this together.

Thank you,

Ian