Message from Mayor Christa Lowry
Municipality of Mississippi Mills
Situation within the community
In a media release today, Country Haven confirmed that 12 residents have passed away. Ten of those deaths are believed to be a result of COVID-19 related complications.
One death is too many. My heart breaks for the family of anyone who is impacted by COVID-19. Country Haven has also confirmed that 20 of their current residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and they await four additional tests.
This afternoon the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit released numbers of community cases by geographical region. This does not include healthcare workers or long-term care residents. In East Lanark (Mississippi Mills, Carleton Place, Beckwith and Montague) we have 14.
For a community the size of Mississippi Mills, these numbers of infections and deaths are dramatic and heartbreaking. Heading into Easter Weekend, a time traditionally of family gatherings and celebration, I must emphasize the critical importance of doing the right thing for our family, loved ones and our community by staying home and connecting with others through technology.
With the release of these new numbers, we all need to do our part and do a better job at making it our individual priorities to protect the health of ourselves, family, friends and the community Follow provincial orders, stay home, don’t gather in groups larger than five, maintain physical distancing, and only leave your home for essential reasons.
What Mississippi Mills is doing to deal with COVID-19
We have taken action to protect the community and our employees in every area we have the authority to do so:
- closed recreational facilities, libraries, daycares and our administrative buildings to limit the opportunities for community spread of this disease.
- some staff are working from home
- We have authorized our bylaw officers to enforce the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act:
- to disperse gatherings of more than 5 people
- to make sure people are using outdoor recreation areas for walkthrough access only
- to address issues of people not taking this crisis seriously and
- to provide education on physical distancing
We also continue to share important information from the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit with our residents and urge that they follow provincial and municipal directives to stay home and be safe.
As a municipality we do not provide medical care or services and we have no control or influence over hospitals, long term care facilities, medical professionals, the public health agencies, laboratory testing facilities or paramedics.
Addressing local situation in Mississippi Mills
The Municipality is in contact with the medical community and respect them as the professionals who have the knowledge and skills to manage this outbreak and to treat those infected with this virus. Right now, our role is to share important information with residents and support the health care community where possible.
Calling a State of Emergency for Mississippi Mills was, in part, to ensure we would be able to respond quickly to requests for support or assistance from the healthcare agencies in our community. Although we are not authorized to provide healthcare, we do have other ways we may be able to offer help when requested. The Municipal Emergency Control Group is ready to respond to any requests from those providing healthcare.
At this time the Municipality has not been asked to provide any additional assistance, and we will continue to support the medical care providers from the sidelines as best we can. If or when we are called upon by any of these medical facilities or public health agencies, we are ready to respond with the full effect of the resources available to the Municipality.
