Chatham-Kent’s mayor is trying to stay positive in the face of a province-wide lockdown to help stem the tide of COVID-19.
Darrin Canniff says it’s up to all of us to do our part.
“There’s a sense of frustration, we’ve been working really hard to keep our numbers lower here, but it’s ultimately we have a lot of people who move between Windsor-Essex and here to work,” Canniff says.
CK’s Mayor says no one is looking forward to another shut-down, but it’s for the greater good.
“I’m proud of how well the residents of Chatham-Kent have come together over the past 10 months to support and look after each other,” said Mayor Canniff. “This will hopefully be our last big push to get things heading back in the right direction and to keep everyone safe and healthy. I know that together we can do it.”
All non-essential businesses will be forced to close as of Boxing Day for the next month, and restaurants will be moving to drive-thru and delivery only.
As well, all municipal arenas, pools, galleries, theatres and museums will be closed to the public. The Chatham Kent Public Library will move to curbside service only.
Municipal centres will remain open but only for essential services and in the case of our Service Ontario offices, they will continue to be by appointment only and also only for essential services.
Director of Economic Development Stuart McFadden says his team will continue to provide one-on-one support for local small businesses, manufacturing, agriculture, and other industries with questions about how to deal with COVID-19 restrictions.
“There are programs dealing with everything from personal protective equipment, to rent and property tax relief, and many others,” McFadden says. “In addition to the investck.ca website, the province has setup a website to support businesses: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/covid-19-help-businesses-ontario which includes specific financial relief programs for businesses required to close.”