Just because the State of Emergency has been lifted in Cobourg, it’s not time to let our guard down concerning COVID-19.
Cobourg Mayor John Henderson lifted the State of Emergency on Monday, July 27, 2020.
It had been in place since March 19.
Emergency Orders continue to be enforced from the province and the HKPR District Health Unit.
Emergency Planner for the Town of Cobourg, Shannon Murphy spoke to Today’s Northumberland about what a State of Emergency is, and the stages of what took place from March to July.
At this point Cobourg is in a “recovery” mode, but that can change.
“While the town has lifted the declaration, that does not mean the emergency is over.”
“The Emergency Operations Centre is still active.”
“Removing the declaration was indicating to the Province that we at this point, are not in need of anymore resources.”
Part of the challenge in dealing with COVID-19 is dealing with how quickly things change day by day, or even hour to hour.
“It was evolving on a moment by moment basis. And new information was continually coming in to us.”
Murphy explains unlike most other emergencies, some of the information received during COVID-19 contradicted itself.
“During the initial states it didn’t look like it was going to effect Canada, then that changed.”
“We weren’t going to shut our borders, then we did.”
“It was constantly changing and it was changing with different information daily.”
If conditions change, “on a moment’s notice,” Cobourg would go back into a State of Emergency to help quickly get the resources they need from the Province.
“We need to be vigilant, the numbers are low in our area, but base on Covids track record world wide we know that could change on a moment’s notice.”
“Cobourg residents have done an amazing job at following the directions of health authority.”
“Please keep it up,” adds Murphy.
“Remember the actions like wearing a mask and physical distancing are bigger than just protecting yourself, you are doing your part in protecting our incredible town.”
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
