COVID fatigue tempers response to the return to Green in KFL&A

Jeff Green | Feb 10, 2021

The Ontario government announced on Monday that the “Stay at Home” order will be extended for another week in most of Ontario, but was extinguished at 12:01 Wednesday morning (November 10) in only three public health jurisdictions, Kingston-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington (KFL&A), Hastings-Prince Edward, and Renfrew.

The removal of the order returns these three jurisdictions to the colour coded provincial zones. All three are currently in the Green Zone, the least restrictive zone. On December 26, when a provincial order suspended the colour coding and imposed the Grey Zone across the province, KFL&A was in the yellow zone, bordering on the Orange zone.

As of Monday, (February 8), the weekly case rate in KFL&A was 5.2 per 100,000 people and the positive testing rate was 0.18%. The upper limit of the Green Zone is a weekly case rate of 10 per 100,000 people and a positive testing rate of 0.5%.

The return to Green means that restaurant dining rooms can reopen, as can in-store shopping, in all stores. All businesses that have been closed since Christmas will be able to reopen. Social distancing rules, masking requirements, decreased capacity limits, etc., remain in place. The rules in place are the same as the ones that were in place, in the fall.

Churches, community halls, and other event spaces, will be able to reopen, under specific restrictions.

Travel, to any area outside of the other Green zone regions, is not recommended, nor it is recommended that visitors, from higher risk zones, visit the Green zones.

It was difficult to contact local restaurants on Monday, for their reaction to the changes, because most have been staying closed until Wednesday, during the just ended provincial lockdown.

However, the ones that were available, reacted with a certain COVID weariness.

Peggy Hallett, of the Sydenham Country Cafe, had not heard about the change when contacted on Monday afternoon. She said that she would open a few tables to sit-down traffic, as she did in the fall, but pointed out that the reluctance among many in the community, particularly seniors, will impact her business just as it did in the fall. She said she will continue to focus on some innovative take-home options the Sydenham Country Cafe has developed.

Phil Gray, of the Maples in Sharbot Lake, was in the midst of painting when contacted, and he was a bit surprised by the news.

“We only have 7 tables, but if we can open for dining, we will. It's been pretty slow with only take-out,” he said.

Cardinal Cafe, also in Sharbot Lake, which has been completely closed since January 14, when the “stay at home” order came into effect, had been planning to reopen on Wednesday, for take-out even before the order was lifted. They are not planning to open for dine in traffic, however, as social distancing for tables in their small cafe is not possible.