Lockdown seen as likely to be extended

Dr. Joyce Lock, medical officer of health for Southwestern Public Health, told health board members at a meeting Thursday, May 6, she expected the current provincial COVID-19 shutdown would continue past the current end date of May 20.

The third wave of the pandemic “has been a really tough haul, but we’re heading in the right direction,” she said, which made her optimistic that local residents would be able to enjoy a great summer with fewer restrictions.

However, even though the number of daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases locally and across the province were falling, they still remained almost as high as during the peak of the pandemic’s second wave, she said.

“We probably won’t be able to come out of the stay-at-home order on May 20, if I’m doing some crystal-ball gazing. I don’t think we will be out of the woods yet, so all our citizens have to hang in a bit longer.”

Board Chairman and Oxford County Warden Larry Martin, mayor of Norwich, said, “I think a lot of our residents are tired of being locked down, and it’s starting to wear on them. But if we bear up, we might have a good summer.”