Protect the Community You Love

To Our Community,

More than six months ago, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic and all our lives changed. As of October 1, 34 million cases were diagnosed world-wide and more than 1 million people had died. In addition to the illness and devastating loss of life, the economy, education, movement within and between countries, and the way we live our daily lives has changed significantly.

In our region, we have had approximately 124 cases per 100,000 people*. This is one of the lowest rates in Southwestern Ontario. Approximately 4.7% of people with COVID-19 have ended up in our local hospitals. Our hospitals have been busy with the Assessment and Testing Centres – but they haven’t been overwhelmed with patients as a result of COVID-19.

And a lot of good has come out of the pandemic response – creative and innovative delivery of services by local businesses, neighbours helping neighbours, and health services working in partnership with one another. Drive by birthday parties, personal protective equipment donation drives, and everyday kindnesses have flooded the news and our social media feeds.

But we are tired. And we see numbers increasing again across the province and we wonder if we have made all these changes for nothing.

We want to let you know that individual actions do matter. Collectively we make a difference. We are doing the right things to keep our community safe. Resilient communities – communities that bounce back from difficult times – are communities that respond to, withstand, and recover from challenges. We have what we need here – committed municipal leadership, strong public sector partners, innovative businesses, and a community with a long history of caring for each other.

Cases are going to rise and fall. That is the nature of a pandemic. We expected a change with the colder weather, more people moving indoors, and the return to school. Our goal is to minimize the number of people infected with COVID-19, keep case numbers from rising too high, prevent deaths and avoid overwhelming our health care system and its health care providers.

Whether “community” for you is your neighbourhood, your workplace, your congregation, your team, your school, or your extended family – protect the community you love. Keep up with all the precautions you have learned. A pandemic is a long haul, but together, we can rise healthy and strong on the other side of COVID-19.

From All of Us at Southwestern Public Health

Download a Protect the Community You Love sign to print and hang in your window and get involved!