INSIDE THIS WEEK:
FARM - Pg. 9
FOOD BANK - Pg. 13
CAR CARE - Pg. 17
Commodity groups navigate the COVID-19 environment
Distribution Centre sees higher usage, donations
‘The Citizen’ presents spring car care guide
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Volume 36 No. 17
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Festival asks NH for help By Denny Scott The Citizen
Total loss Fire Department of North Huron firefighters were on site for a devastating agricultural barn fire west of Londesborough early on Saturday morning. The department responded at approximately 8:30 a.m. to a report of a structure on fire and arrived to battle the blaze, which had fully engulfed the structure. The Central Huron Fire Department assisted with
the fire with manpower from their firefighters. FDNH Deputy-Chief Chad Kregar said that battling the blaze was also made easier due to several small bodies of water close to the fire which helped keep firefighters on scene instead of running for water. The cause of the blaze is undetermined and the structure was a complete loss. (Denny Scott photo)
Four COVID-19 deaths now in H-P By Denny Scott The Citizen Cases of COVID-19 continue to increase across the Huron Perth Public Health team’s coverage area with the total reaching 37 as of Monday. In a teleconference on Monday afternoon, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Miriam Klassen announced the two counties were approaching 1,000 tests with 979 samples taken, 734 reported negative, 208 pending and 37 positive. Those numbers had increased since Friday by two, including a healthcare worker from Greenwood Court, a long-term care facility in Stratford, bringing that facility’s total to 12: six staff members and six residents. Hillside Manor in Sebringville continues to only have one confirmed case, that of a resident. The area has lost four patients to the disease, the initial case in St. Marys and three associated with Greenwood Court.
Last week, Klassen made the decision to break down the cases by their lower-tier location, having previously said she would only identify new cases by county. Of the 37 cases, eight are in Huron County: one case each in Ashfield-ColborneWawanosh, Central Huron, Goderich and Huron East and two cases in Bluewater and South Huron. In Perth, the vast majority of cases, 21, are in Stratford, with two each in Perth East and Perth South (both in St. Marys) and one each in North Perth and West Perth. Klassen said the decision to provide that level of detail came from numerous people requesting it. “When it comes to reporting information, as a health information custodian, I have to navigate a balance [between] providing information about the risk… and protecting privacy,” she said when asked about the change. Klassen said that, when following up on any disease, a public health organization needs to protect the public, but also needs to protect
privacy and avoid stigma. Because of that, she won’t be identifying cases beyond their location for the future. She said that, especially in small towns, if enough information was given, patients could be identified. She said that, even if a community doesn’t have a confirmed case, it could still be there and people should continue to behave as if they could contract or spread COVID-19 anywhere in the county. “Releasing additional information like this may provide a false sense of security as well as further risking violating privacy,” she said. “I thought long and hard about whether to include lower-tier identification because people wanted that information.” She said people may not be happy with “where [she] lands” regarding the information given and that’s why there is a legitimate role for inquiries in her job. “Given the intense interest, we went down to the lower tier.” Even with the announcement of
the COVID-19 pandemic reaching its peak in the province, it’s not a time to stop taking the situation seriously, she said. “This doesn’t change the plan,” she said. “All the measures should stay in effect.” As far as the general information about confirmed cases go, those older than 50 continue to be the hardest hit in Huron County, with 26 of the 37 cases being people over 50. The county has one confirmed case in a patient under 19 years old, two in patients 20-29 years old, four in patients 30-39 years old, four in patients 40-49 years old, eight in patients 50-59 years old, 10 in patients 60-69 years old, three in patients 70 to 79 year old and five in patients over the age of 80. In Huron and Perth Counties, nearly twice as many women have been infected than men, with 24 confirmed cases in female patients and 13 in males. For the most up-to-date information, visit hpph.ca, which is updated daily with case information.
North Huron Township Council has deferred a request for emergency funding from the Blyth Festival related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter that was sent not just to council but to customers and supporters of the organization, Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt shared his concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has hit the organization, which has sold a total of 19 tickets since the pandemic started. He explained that, even with funding potentially available, there will be a shortfall and was asking for help covering it. Councillor Kevin Falconer was first to speak to the issue when it was brought before council on Monday night, saying that supporting the Festival now wasn’t just to help it through this tough situation but to make sure it could come back in 2021. He said that, aside from the creative teams that are being paid now, he believed that the writers for next year’s season would also need to be paid to make sure there are shows ready to go when the Festival starts back up again. Councillor Chris Palmer wasn’t convinced of the validity of supporting the organization, however, saying that if council did, where would it draw the line before helping other organizations. Both Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip and Reeve Bernie Bailey pointed to the fact that, normally, council spends $15,000 on advertising through the Festival which puts North Huron front and centre in the organization’s annual mail-outs. They said the $15,000 could be made available to help the organization through this time. Councillor Anita van Hittersum, however, said that as important as the organization is, it’s a difficult time for council to be helping out other organizations. Bailey said organizations like the Festival are rare and it’s of vital importance not only to Blyth but to North Huron as a whole, so council needed to weigh the decision carefully before coming to a resolution. Council turned to staff, directing that a report be prepared. The direction stated that the report would be brought back before council at a future meeting to determine how North Huron might be able to help the Festival during this time.