COVID-19 restrictions loosen in Timmins thanks to a drop in cases and an increase in vaccination rates
The wait is almost over in Timmins for customers to get a bite to eat or have a beer on a restaurant's outdoor patio. Porcupine Health Unit officials say the majority of the area can get back to business – slowly -- as it moves to Step 1 of reopening.
“So we’ve done it," said Dr. Lianne Catton, medical officer of health. "We’ve seen a tremendous decrease and we’re quite confident in the rate of this decrease and the sustained decrease that we’ve seen. But it hasn’t been that long so we need to move forward with that same abundance of caution."
More people will be able to get together outside, and overnight camping will be allowed in provincial parks. Capacity levels in essential and non-essential businesses can increase slightly.
The Timmins Chamber of Commerce is relieved for its members. In a statement, chamber president Melanie Verrault said too much has been asked of the business community.
"It is immeasurable, the weight and uncertainty they've had to carry, but these are the businesses that form the fabric of our community, and we need to do all we can to ensure their continuity, recovery and future viability," Verrault said.
Catton said the only exception is Moosonee, which faces ongoing challenges to reopening, unique to its role within the James and Hudson Bay region. As a result, with strong support from Moosonee's mayor and other leaders, she said she will issue new instructions with some added restrictions to the Step 1 rules just for that community.
Regardless of where people live within the health unit's area, Catton is asking everyone to keep their guard up.
“We have seen transmission outside," she said. "We’ve seen transmission with less time of close interaction. We’ve seen it with very minimal things of people removing their masks and having a conversation for a few minutes or a few sips of coffee and being too close together."
She said vaccination rates are good, with 72 per cent of adults having received their first dose and 42 per cent of adult their second shot. She hopes more people will take advantage of the drop-in and drive-thru clinics.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.