NORTH BAY — The unofficial May 24 start of cottage season has some municipal leaders concerned about the potential spread of COVID-19 in smaller communities and the impact it could have on limited health-care resources.
Armour Township Reeve Bob McPhail has written to Premier Doug Ford asking for support to stop cottagers and other vacationers from coming north. The letter has been circulated to area municipalities for their support.
Armour, which includes the villages of Katrine and Pickerel Lake, wants the province to re-emphasize the risk travellers add to small communities, even when they visit for just a weekend.
While Almaguin OPP is enforcing the provincial restriction on groups of more than five people, it is not stopping cottagers from heading north, it notes.
McPhail says he doesn’t want a second COVID-19 wave to affect smaller communities.
“We understand the province wants to do it correctly, and just do it once. It's the old saying with carpenters; ‘measure twice and cut once.' It's the same thing here. We want to make sure we get it right the first time.”
At a media conference in early April, Ford urged people to not travel to their cottage for the Easter long weekend.
“The people up there… they have to take care of their families. They don’t have as many acute care beds as we do here in large urban centres,” said Ford. “When 50,000 to 100,000 people start to head north, they clean the shelves off… We don’t want to put that burden on people up in cottage country.”
Ford’s plea, however, is not being enforced as a restriction or travel ban.
In his letter, McPhail echoes Ford’s concern, noting the closest hospital, in Huntsville, has only nine available respirators.
He says many people also are renting accommodations privately or through Airbnb, which has not placed restrictions on renting cottages and rooms. It only has a warning on its website about travelling during COVID-19.
McPhail also notes that with an increase in population, internet services won’t be as reliable for students trying to access education materials online.
“We have a lot of people working from home. We have school kids that are now trying to educate themselves from home on WiFi. We also have some seasonal people coming up and working out of their cottages. The high-speed Wifi is really being stressed.”
Meeting this week, Callander council voted in support of Armour Township.
"I really think it is a good idea that the provincial government addresses this on our behalf," said Mayor Robb Noon.
South River council, meanwhile, did not support Amour Township, believing the province is aware of and investigating the issue, explained clerk administrator Don McArthur.
Coun. Brenda Scott called it a “huge concern,” adding that she fears many people aren’t aware of the “protocols” if they fall ill at their cottage.
But, Scott admitted, “I don't know how this could possibly be enforced,” suggesting there's not much council can do but take a wait-and-see approach.
Coun. Teri Brandt argued the concern has been overstated.
“I think if they come straight up and go straight to their cottage, it's not really a risk in my opinion.”
McPhail said Armour is awaiting responses from additional municipal councils it contacted.
