OTTAWA -- The medical officer of health for Hastings Prince Edward Public Health has issued an order effectively banning local businesses from offering services to people coming from regions of Ontario that are still under stay-at-home orders.
Hastings Prince Edward is one of three public health units whose stay-at-home order ends at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. The region—along with Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health and Renfrew County and District Health Unit—will move into the "Green-Prevent" level of Ontario's colour coded framework, which will allow many businesses and services to reopen.
Twenty-eight other public health regions will remain under the stay-at-home order until Feb. 16, and Toronto, York Region, and Peel Region will remain under the order until Feb. 22.
In his class order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, Dr. Piotr Oglaza ordered all residents of the region to "accept reservations/bookings for dining, accommodation, or personal services only for individuals from regions that are not subject to the ‘Stay at Home’ order," with exceptions for people who are travelling to the region for essential purposes outlined under the stay-at-home order, though those persons would be denied indoor dining and personal care services.
The remainder of the order includes rules for local businesses such as limiting the number of people at a table inside a restaurant and requiring staff to wear personal protective equipment, such as masks and face shields, where required.
"COVID-19 is still present in both the province and Hastings and Prince Edward Counties and therefore poses a risk to the health of the residents of Hastings and Prince Edward Counties through community transmission," Oglaza said in the reasoning for the class order. "A stay-at-home order is still in effect in many regions in the province, and individuals from those regions have been advised to stay home with the exception of travel for essential purposes."
Failure to comply could be met with fines of up to $5000, the order says.
Speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA's "Ottawa at Work with Leslie Roberts", Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk said he does not want to see people from lockdown zones travelling to Belleville or the region this weekend. The area is well-known for its wineries.
"What I can say is that I sympathize with folks who are still in these regions, but we've worked really, really hard in Hastings and Prince Edward, and we've been doing this longer than anybody else," he said, noting that Canadians repatriated from China in February 2020 were quarantined at CFB Trenton.
Panciuk said he's not worried about businesses and places where people have to follow COVID-19 restrictions, but rather private homes, and people visiting family members.
"So, please, I don't want anyone from the Ottawa region or from Toronto or from Peel or from Windsor coming to our city and staying with family and friends," he said. "When they come to hotels they have to wear masks, we have social distancing requirements. I'm asking everyone to have a little more patience."
According to the health unit, the region has 10 active cases of COVID-19 and one outbreak. The region has seen 376 total cases and five deaths since the pandemic began.
