By Cecilia Nasmith
As the Town of Cobourg officially lifted the State of Emergency that has been in place since March 19 – in alignment with the same action at provincial level – Mayor John Henderson warns citizens that the cautions and care they have exercised to such amazing success (such as social distancing) should remain in place.
The mayor issued his warning at Monday's Cobourg council meeting, following the 4 p.m. ending of the State of Emergency.
“Within these last four months, our community has come a long way, and we are now seeing the number of new cases and active infections in Ontario continuing to drop,” Henderson said in a subsequent press release.
“I want to state that even though we are lifting our local State of Emergency, it does not mean the pandemic is over. By lifting the State of Emergency, that means we can no longer issue new orders to respond to local health emergencies. We are moving from an emergency-response mode toward recovery mode, but we must continue to remain vigilant.”
The Province of Ontario has extended Emergency Orders in place through July 29 in order to ensure the province maintains the necessary flexibility to protect public health and safety as more businesses reopen and people go back to work. Citizens are asked to continue to follow all health precautions and Emergency Orders already in place, including wearing a mask or face covering as prescribed by the health unit, maintaining physical distancing, practicing vigilant hand hygiene, and staying home if you are ill.
The Town of Cobourg, the Cobourg Police Service and Bylaw Enforcement team will continue to support, educate and enforce Emergency Orders in place from the province and the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit.
The town's Emergency Control Group will also continue to meet and monitor the situation closely and provide updates that can be found on the town's website.
