Tag: Covid-19

Details of Town of Cobourg’s Vaccination Mandate

John Draper

At the Committee of the Whole meeting on October 4, a motion was passed establishing a policy that “Town employees, volunteers, consultants and Members of Council (must) be fully Vaccinated in the workplace” by November 29, 2021.  A previous post mentioned this briefly but the policy is quite detailed and the details are important. The first step is that individuals must disclose their vaccination status by October 22 using the Ontario Government receipt.  If they are not fully vaccinated nor have a valid exemption they will be subject to regular testing.  If testing gives a result showing infection, they “shall not be permitted to work or enter the workplace and will be required to utilize their banked time to make their pay… Read complete articleDetails of Town of Cobourg’s Vaccination Mandate

Next Step of Re-opening will be Earlier

John Draper

The Province originally said that Ontario would move into Step 3 of re-opening once 70 to 80% of adults had received one dose of vaccine and 25% had received two.  Now that 77% of people 12 and over have received one dose and 50% have received two doses – that threshold has been met already.  Also required were a lower ICU occupancy rate and generally a low new case rate and these have also happened. The numbers for our region (HKPR) are not quite that good but may well be soon.  Given the good results, the Province has announced that we will move into Step 3 five days earlier on July 16 (at 12:01 am) and has released detailed regulations… Read complete articleNext Step of Re-opening will be Earlier

Beach Now Open – Report on Second Day

John Draper

Victoria Beach opened on May 31 and on June 1, it could be called an early  summer day with bright sunshine and temperatures around 20 C.  When I visited at around 3:00 pm, there were about 50 people on the beach – nowhere near the 1200 capacity.  I could not spot any enforcement people but then none were needed.  As a result, there were no staff or Police at the entrance or exits. Presumably they would be there if there were crowds and when the Beach is closed.  I didn’t see anyone swimming and everyone was keeping separated.  But it was a good day to just relax and enjoy the beach.  Signage was good (see photos) – they warned of… Read complete articleBeach Now Open – Report on Second Day

Rotary Wants to Promote Vaccinations

John Draper

Cobourg’s Rotary Club has been providing volunteers to the Vaccination Clinic at the Cobourg Community Centre but they are also keen on encouraging people to get their shots.  Their idea is that everyone who has had a shot should advertise this fact with a lawn sign and simultaneously thank the volunteers who have been helping.  They don’t spell it out but there are a number of covidiots people who don’t want to be vaccinated either because they don’t understand the benefit or have unfathomable reasons and perhaps the signs will be moral persuasion for them to get with the program.  Rotary says it more diplomatically:  that the signs will “create heightened awareness for the need to get vaccinated and foster… Read complete articleRotary Wants to Promote Vaccinations

Beach to be Closed on Weekends and Holidays

John Draper

At a special Emergency meeting tonight, Council voted six to one to allow Victoria beach to be open only on weekdays but with capacity limited to 1200. This is effective May 31.  Councillors Burchat and Beatty would have preferred it to be open all days and Councillor Darling wanted an opening delayed until June 14.  Councillor Chorley explained that the public survey indicated a partial opening was preferred and Health advice is to avoid crowds which are more likely on weekends.  The decision taken was essentially the second of three options proposed by staff.  Option one was to keep the Beach closed and Option three was to open it with no restrictions.  The Staff report (see links below) included the… Read complete articleBeach to be Closed on Weekends and Holidays

Cobourg Ponders Revised Covid rules

John Draper

Late Saturday, May 22, the Town of Cobourg issued a Press Release “asking for the community’s patience and understanding as the Town takes some time to assess the implications of the most recent public health measures as announced on May 20th by the Province of Ontario.” Because of the recent announcement by the Province of its Roadmap to Reopen plan, some rules have now changed and others may change after June 2 and again possibly after June 14. The Town is saying that they “need time to assess the new guidelines, regulations and implications to municipal programs and services, and the logistics involved with our required response”;.  They then spell out some of the immediate changes and announce that once again,… Read complete articleCobourg Ponders Revised Covid rules

Council Closes Beach until 7 June

John Draper

A special Council meeting was called today to decide what to do about people staying on Victoria Beach during the Stay at Home Order.  The  Emergency Control Group (ECG) recommended that it be closed until Council makes a final decision on the status of the Beach at the Monday June 7, 2021 Regular Council Meeting. This plan of action was not specifically directed by the HKPR Health Unit but they did support the ECG decision.  Council discussed the issue at length with questions about signage, enforceability and more. Police Chief Paul Vandgraaf said that today there were 100 people on the beach and many were “congregating” contrary to the rules of the “Stay at Home Order”.  The Chief estimated that… Read complete articleCouncil Closes Beach until 7 June

Covid-19 Update – 12 May 2021

John Draper

Our Medical Officer of Health Dr. Natalie Bocking provide an update today and although we are not “out of the woods” (my words), Dr. Bocking said we are “moving in the right direction”. Vaccinations are ramping up although most have only had one shot – 76% of those aged 60+ have had their first dose and 49% of those eligible (that’s 18+) have had one shot. The Province has paused vaccinations using the Astrazeneca vaccine due to supply issues (plus the small risk we’ve all heard about) but supplies of others – particularly the Pfizer version – are ramping up. The district has been receiving 3500 per week  but deliveries will be 4000/wk in the first 2 weeks of May, 8000/wk in the… Read complete articleCovid-19 Update – 12 May 2021

Vaccine Update – 21 April

John Draper

At her first media “scrum”, Dr. Natalie Bocking, the new HKPR Medical Officer of Health, provided a comprehensive update on what is being done to cope with the pandemic.  A good part of the statistical data she provided is available online at the HKPR DHU website (That’s the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit web site) but she also provided additional details about variants, vaccines, demographics, clinics, vaccine distribution and appointment availability.  It was open to the media and local media people did ask some questions. This report will provide a summary of information provided but in the interest of transparency, the one hour session was recorded on You-Tube and is available via links below. If you have the… Read complete articleVaccine Update – 21 April

Police Responding to Public Concerns about Demonstrators

John Draper

Cobourg Police seem to now be responding to complaints from the Public about demonstrators not following the same rules as everyone else.  At a Press conference today (see video below), Chief Paul VandeGraaf, Police Board Chair and Mayor John Henderson re-iterated that they are now enforcing the rules.  Last Saturday, seven offenders got tickets and two got Court summons for obstructing Police.  When asked why now and not earlier, Chief VandeGraaf said that it was his decision. Police attempts to educate were being ignored and people were refusing to comply.  He said their behaviour was bordering on criminal. Mayor Henderson commented that he had received a large number of calls wanting enforcement and he communicated that to the Chief.  It… Read complete articlePolice Responding to Public Concerns about Demonstrators