Bill Mauro says he is keeping the possibility of declaring an emergency in mind.
Thunder Bay’s Mayor answered residents’ questions about the response to COVID-19 in a live broadcast Tuesday night, alongside Thunder Bay District Health Unit Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janet DeMille.
Mauro says a formal state of emergency would normally not give the city many advantages in handling the pandemic, but that recently changed. He says new rules let them re-assign city workers to different jobs if needed, a power he says would be used carefully.
“It’s a very serious order, and I think that’s why the province has said, ‘Well, Mayor, you’re going to have to make a declaration before we’re going to do it.’ But it’s a provincial order that allows us to do that,” Mauro says.
When it comes to the restrictions on gatherings, Mauro says it’s not likely that you’ll be able to attend events like Live on the Waterfront.
He points out the planning for such events starts well in advance, so the city will have to decide soon whether to cancel them.
Dr. DeMille says lifting those restrictions on events and gatherings is up to the province, would take time, and needs to be done in stages.
Mauro notes many people are following rules like physical distancing requirements. For those who aren’t, Mauro says he doesn’t want to fine people not obeying COVID-19 rules, but the city can if necessary.
After the Health Unit held drive-through COVID-19 testing over the weekend, Dr. DeMille says more testing will help them understand how it’s spreading here.
She explains there are likely people in the community who don’t know they have the disease, and weren’t getting tested before because they had mild or no symptoms.
“COVID-19 can present in a variety of ways, from a very, very mild illness, to something that’s very severe,” Dr. DeMille points out.
The Health Unit official predicts we will eventually be able to test for the virus using a blood sample.
Dr. DeMille notes she will make another update to the community on Wednesday.
