It’s been two months to the day since Newmarket logged its first case of COVID-19, and the ensuing economic and social disruption the new coronavirus has caused in the community is taking a toll, Mayor John Taylor heard yesterday at his first virtual town hall since the pandemic hit.
Residents are anxious to get back to living their lives, are confused about some of the local restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the potentially deadly respiratory disease, and want to talk about the future.
But according to town hall guest and York Region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Karim Kurji, life as we know it will not return to normal until a vaccine is developed and a vaccination program is launched in the community.
“We need to remain vigilant until such time as the majority of us have been vaccinated,” Kurji said, adding that it will likely take between nine months to one year for a vaccine to come to market, and another six months for a vaccination program to roll out.
“I don’t think we will ever reach the point where we have no cases of COVID-19 and we have to accept the fact that we will be living in a different world now that will require us to physically distance to some degree, to pay great attention to hand hygiene, not going out if we are sick, ensuring we do not let this virus transmit amongst ourselves,” Kurji said.
Taylor noted that while everyone is “itching to talk about the future”, he’s not going to rush to open up the town and put baseball or soccer season ahead of residents’ health.
“Reopening the economy and lifting restrictions is going to be more complex and difficult decisions to make than shutting things down,” Taylor said. “And getting it right is so important. I’ll be looking to Dr. Kurji, the data and the science, and our medical experts to guide us.”
“This is not something done as a political decision, or pressure, or we want to look like we’re taking action,” Taylor added. “This is something that we have to put the health and well-being of our residents first, but safety first.”
When it comes to dates and times for lifting restrictions and opening Newmarket back up, the virus will guide that, the mayor said.
There is reason for optimism as community spread of the coronavirus locally appears “pretty flat”, Kurji noted.
As of April 30, there are 139 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Newmarket, with just two additional cases reported since April 27. About 23 per cent of cases are resolved, with 10 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
Of Newmarket’s total cases, outbreaks in long-term care residences and group homes continue to be a challenge to contain, Kurji said. Newmarket's outbreak cases have increased to 110, including 69 residents and 41 health-care workers (who do not all reside in York Region) as of April 30.
Since Newmarket’s first case was confirmed Feb. 29 in a woman in her 70s who had travelled to Egypt, local COVID-19 cases doubled about every four days. Now, cases are doubling about every 14 days, Kurji said.
There are signs of a plateau, a downward trend in infections, but the town has to move forward with caution, said Taylor.
That initial case launched the town “into the world of COVID-19”, Taylor said, as the local resident had been at the Newmarket Seniors’ Meeting Place over two days on Feb. 22 and Feb. 24, had lunch and visited the badminton courts and played mahjong.
The risk of catching COVID-19 was deemed low as there was no evidence of community spread in Newmarket, or York Region.
“From there, it wasn’t long after that the numbers began to rise,” Taylor said.
On March 13, the town closed the seniors centre, and other facilities including community centres, and the library. It cancelled recreation and culture programs. On that same day, Taylor, himself, said that he had been tested for COVID-19 after suffering coronavirus-type symptoms. He later received negative results.
Additional facility closures came on March 16, as the town’s municipal office and Central York Fire Services fire halls were shuttered.
On March 18, the Town of Newmarket was one of the first municipalities to declare a local state of emergency in response to COVID-19, and announced early financial relief from property taxes for homeowners and businesses.
“We thought this was important to let our organization, staff, and our community know that this is very serious,” Taylor said.
Council also approved up to $25,000 in emergency funding for local groups and community meals programs beginning to feel the pinch as the public health measures to stay at home as much as possible and practise physical distancing when out in the community began to take hold.
Playground closures and the shutdown of parks with fitness equipment followed on March 20. Less than a week later on March 26, Newmarket’s dog park and sport fields were also off limits to residents, and picnic tables were removed in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Physical or social distancing is acknowledged as a powerful tool to limit the spread of the disease and the town encourages residents to report non-compliance.
There were few formal complaints at this time, and about 261 general questions about COVID-19, regulatory services manager Flynn Scott said.
To help lift residents’ spirits during the near-lockdown of the community, the town launches a positivity campaign known as Stand Apart Together. It appoints the first round of 10 community positivity ambassadors, residents who are known for their cheery disposition, along with its own chief positivity officer, Jamie Boyle, to lead the initiative. There are now 30 resident ambassadors who, largely through social media, share messages of hope, humour, and acts of kindness.
On March 31 and in tandem with the Ontario government, the town extended its closures until further notice.
On April 3, the town begins to issue fines to local residents who break Ontario’s emergency orders, including social gatherings of more than five people who do not live in the same household, price gouging on necessary goods such as disinfectant products, and trespassing on public facilities that are closed.
To help struggling local businesses, the town and the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce on April 21 launched the Business Assistance Concierge program, a virtual support centre, and a shop local gift card scheme.
On April 27, Newmarket council approved a nearly $1-million financial relief program for homeowners and businesses.
Upward of 160 people tuned into Taylor’s town hall, and about half of the hour-plus long forum was devoted to residents’ questions.
Here is a selection of your questions, along with the answers:
Q: Is newmarket considering closing off some streets to car traffic to encourage more foot traffic?
A: Taylor said this is a tricky subject. It’s been discussed many times to close Main Street at certain times for pedestrians only. But if you close off one space, you could quickly have a lot of pedestrian traffic and bring people together to a focal point as opposed to spreading them out, he said.
“I’m a little hesitant, but will consider it and talk to Dr. Kurji about it. But my concern is we’re attracting people to a few closed streets. A better model is to walk on sidewalks on many open streets,” he said.
Q: We are a family of six living together. If my kids want to have a friend over outside while physically distancing, is that allowed?
A: Both Taylor and regulatory services manager Flynn Scott agree this is a grey area. Scott said the provincial mandate prohibits more than five people from gathering together that are not living in the same household. The only exception is a household with more than five members.
If a five-person household has one person over from a different household, that’s where you’re breaking that emergency order, he said.
“If you have five people gathered from different households that are demonstrating social distancing, that is technically permitted,” Scott said. “But the guidance is to avoid that and stay home.”
Q: The planters on Main Street can’t go in, but will hanging baskets go up soon?
A: Taylor said it’s unlikely because the hanging baskets can’t be done with physical distancing. “We’re ready to go and I sure hope we can get those up, but it’s safety first, and we’ll follow medical guidance,” he said.
Q: When and how is garbage in our public spaces being dealt with? Bins are overflowing, walkways and pathways are full of garbage.
A: Taylor said this is an area they’ve been told to not pursue from a safety perspective.
“That will be a takeaway for us, though, as an essential service and a health and safety issue,” he said, and urged residents to call the town to report the location of trouble spots.
Q: When will dog parks be open?
A: Taylor said it is difficult to say, but said the town will move to normalize as soon as it can. Right now, it is not the prudent thing to do, he added.
Q: There seems to be some confusion regarding what is allowed around town walking paths, and sitting on benches, for example.
A: Taylor said that the practice of physical distancing, keeping six feet apart from others when out in the community, is the guiding principle in all cases.
“Go out and get exercise, that’s critical in trying times,” he said. “Go to parks, green spaces and trails in Newmarket, they remain open, use them, but not the facilities within it. We don’t use the park benches because they’re not getting wiped down and the virus could be transmitted on them,” he said.
Q: I have an appointment to donate blood, is it safe?
A: Kurji said he’s confident that blood donor clinics are taking all the necessary processes to safely collect blood and encouraged residents to go ahead and do their civic duty.
“Blood is a very important commodity and we do need to have this replenished,” he said. “New treatment modalities are being investigated and it’s possible that blood serum may be used as a treatment for COVID-19.”
While the town is planning on how it will reopen, Taylor can’t say exactly when at this time.
“But I will say this: I’ve noticed people’s vigilance slipping a little bit in the last few days since the talk of reopening has come around,” he said. “If you don’t do the right things now, the numbers (of infections) won’t come down, and opening will be further out. Stay strong and vigilant and follow the guidelines, that’s the best way to getting people back on their feet.”
Bylaw manager Scott agrees, and said the biggest issue out there in the community is physical distancing.
“At the start of this, we didn’t have a single call about social distancing, but if you fast foward to the end of April, we’ve had 174 complaints for social gatherings in private residences and parks, or people just not demonstrating that five-person limit in a household,” he said.
“We have seen a dramatic increase in comparison of the last two months alone, with the weather getting nicer,” said Scott. “In March, we had just over 1,000 interactions with our residents in parks, and on the trails. April’s numbers are about 5,500, so we’re seeing about five times the amount of people out and about. It’s important that we’re maintaining that social distancing.”
To watch the virtual town hall, visit Mayor John Taylor's Facebook page.
