> Volunteers band to support Grimsby restaurants with free delivery system /Pg 10 > Blood donations still needed Pg 4 > Economic response team in place, ready Pg 6 > Work together - stop COVID: Dr. Joan Bellaire Pg 15 Thursday, March 26, 2020 Vol. 8 Issue 48
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On a wing and a prayer
Many, such as St. Joseph Church’s Fr. Rico Passero, have found ways to innovate these days. Photos of his parishioners in Grimsby fill the pews while
Circ: 26,529
daily Mass is celebrated by live-stream bringing all together in spirit as a church family. For details, see Page 3. Photo courtesy of Fr. Rico Passero
COVID-19: Prevention key to saving lives By Mike Williscraft For NewsNow Despite school closures, requests for social distancing and suggested 14-day self-quarantine for anyone returning to Canada, many are not adhering to these guidelines as the COVID-19 incidence rate continues to escalate. The lack of attention to these preventative measures forced Premier Doug Ford to issue a closure notice to all non-essential businesses in Ontario effective Wednesday, March 28, at midnight. The number of area residents who are not taking the issue seriously was clearly evidenced by the
numbers of people who flocked to Beamers Conservation Area on the weekend. With vehicles parked all along the Quarry Road entranceway to Beamer’s both Saturday and Sunday and several hundred making their way along the paths throughout the area it painted a stark picture for one resident. “I just wondered what all those people were thinking,” said a caller to NewsNow who lives along Ridge Road, near Quarry Road. “Cars and people were everywhere, like it was Thanksgiving weekend. People from all over, who knows who they would come in
contact with.” That was not the only example of local residents brushing off pleas to stay home and/or self isolate. Another caller Saturday morning outlined a disturbing circumstance she encountered while grocery shopping Friday evening. “I had got some toilet paper at the SuperStore after looking for a week and a lady approached me as I walked out. The lady asked how much the toilet paper cost,” recalled the caller, who wished to remain anonymous. “When I told the lady how much it was, she said it was so much cheaper in the States. I asked, “you were
down there?” “She said, ‘We just got back’.” I said to her “you are not supposed to be in the store, you are supposed to be home self-isolating.” “I said, “I am shopping for someone who just got back from Florida yesterday, getting them groceries and dropping them off on their porch. She said she had nobody to do that.” More surprising than that exchange was her closing comment. “The person checking me out said she had had five people that day say they just got back from Florida,” the caller added. See DISTANCE, Page 3