Editorial – In the topsy turvy world of the news business it was a busy day.
But in all honesty, it shouldn’t have been.
What started out as messages coming in about the Tim Hortons being closed in Colborne and trying to get answers starting on Monday night ended at – well it hasn’t.
At approximately 9 p.m. on Monday, November 30, 2020 Today’s Northumberland sent messages out to the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit and also to the media relations department at Tim Hortons.
The sign on the door at the locked Colborne store stated it was closed temporarily, “due to the evolving health situation.”
In essence, all signs pointed to COVID-19, but no one could say for sure.
So, of course you’d look towards the health unit in being transparent.
It was a given that no one would be getting back during the evening hours.
But surely during a pandemic, they would be reaching out to confirm, deny or educate about the issue on Tuesday morning.
Nope.
Even after a second e-mail and a phone call went out to Chandra Tremblay who is the manager of Corporate Services, Communications and other things still not a peep.
In fact it wasn’t until 3:22 p.m. almost 18 hours after the first e-mail was sent asking about information did Today’s Northumberland get a response.
They issued a release from the Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Lynn Noseworthy that essentially didn’t have much context.
The release said there was an COVID-19 outbreak in Northumberland County. Didn’t say in what area of the county so people could take preventative measures.
So the rumours still carry on in and around the Colborne area whether the store is closed because of COVID-19 or something else.
Then at 4:41 p.m. “Tim Hortons Media Team” finally responds to our e-mail and confirm the restaurant is closed due to COVID-19.
The statement partially read, the restaurant located at 289 Big Apple Dr., Colborne, ON temporarily closed on November 30th due to COVID-19. Impacted team members are self-isolating for 14 days.
Following public health guidelines, the restaurant has been closed for cleaning and sanitization and is expected to re-open Sunday, December 13.
Finally confirmation after approximately 20 hours.
To be fair, and as stated before there likely isn’t a word for how “busy” the health unit is during a pandemic.
But let’s also be clear. People are on edge. Nerves are shattered and it’s hard for some people to keep things together.
The community the health unit serves must rely on them for timely, accurate information.
At this time – it’s getting harder and harder to have that faith.
During this pandemic the information being released by the health unit has become a guessing game.
At times once we get a release and read it, there seems to be more questions than answers. And you’d be hard pressed to get those questions answered by the health unit.
Speaking of the Medical Officer of Health for the Region – has anyone seen Dr. Lynn Noseworthy since the pandemic began?
She is the Medical Officer of Health for the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge area, but I can’t recall hearing much if anything from her directly.
Now that Tim Hortons has confirmed the store is closed due to COVID-19, other questions come to mind.
Is there a risk to the public? With more than one staff member in isolation, could it be possible the public was exposed?
The bigger question is, who do we direct the question too?
Think of this – if the health unit doesn’t even acknowledge Tim Hortons being closed due to COVID-19 there isn’t much chance they’ll be answering anything else. So it’s back to the “Tim Hortons Media Team” for answers. Again, we have to get answers about the potential health and well being from the “Tim Hortons Media Team” instead of the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit.
The second wave of COVID-19 is upon us.
But if someone does contract COVID-19, I don’t think the public would generally call for a public lynching.
As much as people protect themselves things will happen. As long as everyone is doing their best to protect themselves that’s all anyone can ask for.
But during this pandemic the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit has to do much better in communication and education for the trust and transparency of the citizens they serve.
On a side note, I’m still waiting for Ms. Tremblay’s call after I requested an interview much earlier today – so the story goes on…
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
