It’s time to ‘double down’, says Tillsonburg mayor
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The number of COVID-19 cases in Tillsonburg has been climbing, and Mayor Stephen Molnar says now it is more important than ever to follow health unit and provincial regulations.
“We are at a time right now when some of the most vulnerable in our community are facing great challenges,” Molnar said last Friday.
The families of Maple Manor Long Term Care residents are concerned, he said, and the community as a whole is concerned, both for the and the staff who provide service – and the impact it is having on their families as well.
“We are certainly aware, as a community, and prepared to assist any way appropriate when called upon,” said Molnar. “The opportunity has been extended from the town, ‘How can we appropriately assist?’ We are ready to respond to any request for assistance if and when it comes from our partners.
“We are certainly aware that the overall pressures that have come from the escalating cases in the town, the town as a whole and acutely at the nursing home, have absolutely and critically impacted the capacity at the local hospital, and of course hospitals within the regional health care system. It impacts other facilities within the region – just as Tillsonburg was able to help out at other times, now Tillsonburg is at, or over capacity. It impacts their emergency departments and their elective surgeries, and other things (visiting opportunities have already been curtailed).
Molnar said he’s proud of how the community has dealt with the pandemic.
“We are a town of 17,000, we service a region of 80,000 to 100,000, whether it’s health care, retail, faith-based organizations, education, so there’s a transient population, but it’s also the great value that’s part of the legacy of our community.”
Molnar said it is critical for the town to “double down” in following health unit and provincial guidelines, continue to be aware, and continue following the advice of front-line public health care providers.
“I’m just the messenger,” said Molnar, “but the facts are the facts and we need to continue to sacrifice. Now more than ever. And then hopefully that light that we see at the end of the tunnel is a candle of hope.
“A resident at a long term care home in Tillsonburg is a resident of the Town of Tillsonburg, and we all need to respect that, take that seriously, and enhance potentially the level of contribution so that family members and loved ones, as a whole, are aware that as we work together, as we follow the advice of our public health officials, that we can all continue to be part of the solution together.”
cabbott@postmedia.com
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