A timely warning of caution from the Northwestern Health Unit as colder weather approaches.
Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kit Young Hoon talks about the biggest potential risk of COVID-19 spread during the winter.
“I think the biggest risk of COVID-19 spread in the winter will be people gathering in enclosed spaces without following physical distancing measures or without wearing a face mask, as appropriate. It’s just what tends to happen as winter approaches, people get cold and they’re more likely to congregate indoors.”
Whether it be in your house, a restaurant or even an ice shack, the health unit strongly recommends sticking to COVID-19 public health measures.
While Northwestern Ontario cases aren’t rising right now, Hoon says we can learn a lot from Southern Ontario’s situation.
“Indoor informal gatherings were a bigger problem initially, which is why they first put restrictions on private gatherings. Now they’ve increased provincial restrictions for Ottawa, Peel and Toronto (now York Region as of October 16-after interview took place) as it applies to indoor dining and restaurants. This to me that means they’ve seen an increase of spread through the restaurant public setting.”
Hoon says they will continue to watch local numbers.
“As cases increase, we will be looking more closely to see where those cases are, where they likely picked up COVID-19 and how they might have transmitted to others. We will monitor cases to help us figure out if additional public health measures are required.”
Public and or private gatherings should all be following the most up to date provincial restrictions for our region.
