Some communities in Elgin and Oxford County are going back to more enhanced public health measures in an effort to stop the rapid spread of COVID-19.
On Monday, Dr. Joyce Lock, Medical Officer of Health for Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) issued a letter of instruction to all business owners, operators and organizations located in Elgin County, Oxford County, and St. Thomas with instructions for reinstating capacity limits to 50 per cent that will go into effect on December 2 at 12:01 a.m.
The measures will apply to most businesses and organizations where less than 80 per cent of those 12 and older are fully vaccinated and/or where COVID-19 case rates are high (0.8 cases per 1,000 people or more).
Municipalities included in the letter are:
• Aylmer • Bayham • Blandford-Blenheim • Malahide • Norwich • South-West Oxford • Tillsonburg • West Elgin
Sectors mentioned in the order include restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments, personal care services, indoor and outdoor sports and recreation facilities, concert venues, theatres and cinemas along with casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments.
Weddings, funerals and religious services will also be required to limit capacity to 50 per cent.
"For several weeks the cases in our region have risen steadily. Our test percent positivity, our number of cases per 100,000 people, and the pressure on our hospitals all indicate measures must be put into place to stem this rise," said Lock. "These high case counts are taxing local health care providers and disrupting both workplaces and schools."
Earlier this month, SWPH alerted the public that it was considering the possibility of reinstating stricter public health measures after rates of positive cases went up and St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital began to run out of beds.
"We hope that these actions will reduce new cases and the risk to the community and prevent the need for even more restrictive public health measures during the holiday season," Lock added.
The restrictions are expected to remain in place for at least six weeks, until Monday, January 10, 2022 at 12:01 a.m.