I am feeling a little bit of anger. I am disappointed by residents of Fort Frances and the Rainy River District. I believe that I am not alone. We were asked by the premier of Ontario to restrict visits in our homes over the Christmas holiday season to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
If district residents are like Canadians, 60 per cent fear catching the virus, but, yet over 50% of Canadians visited friends or relatives over the holiday season. Many had multiple different visits during the holiday season. For the 48 per cent who remain locked in their homes, shunning family, and friends, I say thank you.
And this week we are learning the consequences of those visits. The district remains in a grey lockdown for a minimum of two more weeks. Schools in Fort Frances, Mine Centre, Emo, Devlin will continue with online learning. In a late Sunday evening text, the director of education announced the change following directions from the Northwestern Health Unit.
The 18 cases discovered on Saturday and Sunday in the Rainy River District are sobering. For so many months we had gloated about our success in successfully keeping the virus at bay. Yet in a single day we had more cases than in the previous ten months combined. And if the Ministry of health is accurate, Ontario will see a jump of Covid cases from 4,000 per day to 6,000 per day by the end of January. And that might mean a jump in district cases from 18 per day to 27 per day.
Maybe we felt safe and immune. Maybe we should have asked our sons and daughters to remain in place at colleges and universities across Canada and not come home. Maybe we should not have travelled to visit family beyond the Rainy River District. Maybe we should just have followed the provincial guidelines.
But today, with the increased numbers, our hospital now has patients needing care within its walls. More vigilance is in place at Rainycrest to protect its residents. They are among the most vulnerable as we have witnessed in Winnipeg and Toronto.
All these changes taking place in the past two weeks have put a huge strain on our medical staff and support staff working in health facilities across the district.
There are simple solutions while we wait for vaccines. We must remain in lockdown. We must wear masks when leaving our homes. We must wash and sanitize our hands. We must not visit one another. We must not travel. Only by being vigilant will in-classroom education begin again. Only by being vigilant will we reduce the strain on health staff in the district.
And only when we are all vaccinated can we resume a more normal lifestyle.
Jim Cumming
Former Publisher
Fort Frances Times
