On July 17, North Bay Mayor Al McDonald spoke with Moose FM about the city entering Stage 3 of the Province’s reopening plan.
“Stage 3 is the final stage in all the different protocols, but there will still be restrictions,” said the Mayor. “Restaurants can have indoor dining and playground equipment will be open for our families to use. We caution them that we can’t sanitize and to please bring sanitizer with you and follow protocols! […] City Hall is now open the first floor, and citizens can come in and drop anything off as the doors are open. We again ask them to follow protocols and to please wear face coverings.”
McDonald also shares that even though he’s felt push back from the community in regards to wearing facemasks or face coverings, he still wants everyone to wear one.
“There are strong feelings on both sides of this issue. This is where I say; you can be mad at us for the policy in place… but our medical officer of health is recommending and advising we do. I get that if you don’t believe in face coverings… but we just ask you to wear them. It’s the advice we were given.” He said.
He also shared that North Bay is currently in day 11 of no positive COVID-19 cases.
“And we have no unresolved cases in our city, which means everyone’s doing their part. Unfortunately, we did lose one soul… In total, there are 37 positive cases and 36 have been resolved. [North Bay is] a shining beacon in the province of Ontario. We are one of the lowest positive case ratios per capita in the province. That speaks to our citizens and our front line workers. It’s greatly appreciated all the hard work everyone’s put in.”
The mayor also encouraged citizens to continue their diligence in following all safety protocols despite entering stage 3 on July 17.
“Please follow the protocols. Just because we’re in Stage 3 doesn’t make it any safer. We need to continue to follow protocols or we will see a spike. With stage 3 comes a lot more activities. If we don’t follow the protocols our risk profile goes up tremendously.”
