There were a few complaints but no tickets handed out in Chatham-Kent during the first week of Step 1 of Ontario's reopening plan outside of a couple of charges laid against local church members on Sunday.
Chatham-Kent police said they received four complaints over the past week regarding possible COVID-19 violations at different places, such as stores and patios, but no infractions were found. Bylaw enforcement also said they didn't issue any tickets or lay any charges since last Friday when the province allowed retail stores and restaurants to open with limited capacity.
Chatham-Kent Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby said he's pleasantly surprised. Mayor Darrin Canniff echoed Dr. Colby.
"We're moving forward and people are still reaping [the benefits] of that in general. It's complaint based and we're not out hunting for those violations. People are feeling optimistic about it [the reopening]," said Mayor Canniff. "There's a good sense of optimism out there with the weather, with the COVID situation, with all of the good things that happening in Chatham-Kent. People are starting to feel better."
Chief Administrative Officer Don Shropshire said he's not overly surprised because the vast majority of residents have respected public health guidelines for the past 15 months.
"I think the numbers are really reflective of that. We're doing as well as almost anywhere in the province. So, we shouldn't be overly surprised but I certainly think we should be celebrating that and urging people to continue that same action," Shropshire added.
Canniff said the Municipality is heading in the right direction and people's mental health should get better as other businesses that are currently closed begin to open in the next couple of weeks when Step 2 kicks in.
"We're really heading in the right direction as far as helping with the mental health of the community. We need this. We've all been impacted in some ways from a mental perspective. The fog is starting to lift and people are just starting to feel better, which is great news," the mayor said.
As far as returning to a regional reopening approach in the future, Dr. Colby said he can't rule out a regional variation but it would take a lot for the province to change its current "one size fits all" course now. Colby added he likes the current provincial reopening plan because it's very difficult to control the spread of the virus when you have different rules and artificial borders between jurisdictions.
"If it turns out that there's one small area of the province that is stubbornly having problems that are difficult to fix, you could see a return to that but we'll just have to see how this evolves," the doctor said.