Dufferin County Council and Dufferin Board of Trade are both taking issue with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health’s Class Order 22 that came into effect today.
On Monday, the province announced Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph region is permitted to enter into phase 2 of Ontario’s reopening strategy
Two days later, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health issued further orders that came into effect today, making it mandatory for all customers and staff at local businesses to wear face coverings.
County warden Darren White says county council was concerned with the $5,000 fine businesses would be subjected to if they fail to obey the order, and asked Public Health to hold off on it until the public is made more aware of the importance of face coverings.
Public Health will continue to fine businesses but this morning, it stated it’ll focus more on public education for enforcement, rather than on fines.
myFM News reached out to Public Health asking what public education will entail and received the following reply from medical officer of health, Dr. Nicola Mercer:
Public education is the foundation of the work of public health. Over the coming weeks, we’ll continue engage the public – both citizens and the owner/operators of commercial establishment – on this week’s order. We’ll continue to provide resources through web and social media, as well as working actively with the media.
Meanwhile, Dufferin Board of Trade chair, Liz Skorski says consultations with local merchants have revealed Public Health’s order has rubbed many of them the wrong way.
Newly-released clarification of Public Health’s order can be found here.