The Creemore
ECHO
Friday, May 22, 2020 Vol. 20 No. 21
www.creemore.com
News and views in and around Creemore
INSIDE THE ECHO
Name Game
Stalemate for renaming of Jean Vanier PAGE 2
52 Weeks
Climate Change Challenge continues PAGE 10
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Protocols in place as retail stores open by Trina Berlo On Tuesday, Denise Kacarevich could be found installing a doorbell at her store, Seasons in Creemore. It is one of the measures she is taking to control the flow of traffic through her Mill Street store as retail opens in Ontario. With 1,900 square feet of retail space, Kacarevich is confident that a limited number of customers inside the store can maintain that essential two-metre distance from one another. During the past two months, the store has been closed to the public except by private shopping appointments. Kacarevich said although those customers made up only a small portion of pre-pandemic sales, the model worked fairly well. For the most part, people have been cautious about touching only the items they intend to buy, and following safety protocols. Between customers, door handles, railings and the debit machine are sanitized. But her main customer base are tourists, and by opening retail they will inevitably come. “I was between a stone and a hard spot because I could open but if people
Staff photo: Trina Berlo
Seasons in Creemore storeowner Denise Kacarevich is finding ways to welcome shoppers in a safe and controlled manner. don’t come to town I’m not really going to get any business,” said Kacarevich. She said although she is confident that businesses will be able to safely control what’s happening in their own stores, she has concerns about the flow of foot traffic on the streets now that every business is opening and the nice
weather has arrived. “I’m not worried about the store, I’m worried about all the people outside, trying to keep them distancing from each other,” Kacarevich. People have already been lining up at restaurants offering take-out and stores that have limited space. With more
customers and limited access to stores, there will be longer line-ups. “With the line-ups and ringing a doorbell, maybe people who aren’t really shopping and just killing time, probably won’t line up to come in a store anymore,” said Kacarevich. She said, wishful thinking, she could have people line up down the side street but with people lining up at businesses on Mill Street, there is potential for lines to block sidewalks and make it uncomfortable for people walking by. She is hoping for a traffic flow plan so that customers can line up safely, and in an orderly fashion. Late last week Premier Doug Ford announced, as part of the first phase of re-opening the economy in Ontario, that “retail services that are not in shopping malls and have separate street-front entrances with measures in place that can enable physical distancing, such as limiting the number of customers in the store at any one time and booking appointments beforehand or on the spot.” Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit’s medical officer of health Dr. (See “Retail” on page 2)
Rising confidence that COVID-19 cases are declining by Trina Berlo There is evidence of improvements in stopping the spread of COVID-19 at long term health facilities and in the communities of Simcoe Muskoka, as well as across the province, said the health unit’s medical officer of health Dr. Charles Gardner. The number of cases at long term care facilities has peaked and is showing a decline due to all the measures taken, including the testing of all staff and residents. Gardner was also more confident this week in saying the local number of cases is not growing exponentially, and could be on the decline. He spoke in support of the province’s
Dr. Charles Gardner approach to opening the economy, calling it a calculated risk. He said it is essential for people’s physical and mental health that there is some easing of the isolation but it will have to be
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done in a controlled way, with careful monitoring. “If you look at the data the province definitely is on the decline,” said Gardner. “The reproductive number is less than one.” He said the GTA, however, still has a high concentration of cases causing significant impacts on hospitals. “Here, we have lower incidents. We have had a plateau or slight increase in our incidents,” said Gardner but more recently there has been a decline in cases over the last couple of weeks, from 53 new cases last week compared to 73 the week prior. “But by no means could we say that it’s over, it comes back to that
calculated risk. There is still some circulation of the virus. We still, even if we open things up, have to do it in a very careful way,” said Gardner. The health unit is reporting a total of 441 cases, with 422 of those being in Simcoe County, while Muskoka has only 19. Seventy-three per cent of people have recovered, and 36 have died. Clearview hasn’t had any new cases, including at Creedan Valley nursing home, where testing is complete. Gardner said, coming soon, the health unit will be sharing more comprehensive modeling data for the regions. Data is updated daily at www. simcoemuskokahealthstats.org.
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