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Grumbling aplenty but there’s no move to remove medical officer of health

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Between trail closures and a three-man quarantine limit on bunkhouses, there has been a fair amount of grumbling locally about public health orders arising from COVID-19.

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But no one on the Norfolk and Haldimand board of health is prepared to push back against Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, the counties’ medical officer of health.

At the April 28 board of health meeting, Delhi Coun. Mike Columbus warned that delays in situating the 4,200 offshore workers who come to Norfolk each year will have implications for Canada’s food supply.

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“From what I hear, production is going to be down to a significant standard,” Columbus said.

Norfolk Mayor Kristal Chopp, chair of the board of health, and Haldimand Mayor Ken Hewitt, have heard numerous complaints about the rules during this time of social distancing and self-isolation.

Members of Norfolk council – which serves as the board of health for both counties – have also heard complaints.

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At the April 28 meeting, Chopp explained the process for removing a medical officer of health. The first step is a two-thirds majority vote, followed by the consent of the Ministry of Health. Chopp asked Columbus if he wanted to go there.

“I’m not prepared to do that,” he replied.

Farmers have complained that limiting occupancy of a bunkhouse to three workers during the 14-day quarantine will leave them short of the help they need this spring. Other health units have not imposed a similar cap.

Nesathurai explained that the three-man limit is in the best interests of everyone because a COVID-19 outbreak in such a setting is manageable.

Conversely, a single case of COVID-19 in a 20-man setting is potentially debilitating to an entire operation. This would require a two-week quarantine for all workers plus contact tracing and additional quarantines involving up to 100 individuals.

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Nesathurai noted that a COVID-19 outbreak at a farm in the Windsor area has resulted in the quarantine of 250 people. The doctor said this is equivalent to two nursing homes.

“It’s a big risk, for sure – for the farmer, the people affected, the community overall,” Nesathurai said.

Hewitt sat in on the meeting as a non-voting representative of Haldimand. He said he’s pushed back against some of Nesathurai’s recommendations but ultimately must defer to the doctor’s expert opinion.

“Shanker has specifically put in a number of orders,” Hewitt said. “Some we agree with, some we do not. But it is certainly his position to make those decisions. We’ve tried to support our public health unit the last six weeks to ensure we keep the community together, looking forward to a better tomorrow versus questioning what we’re doing today.”

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Hewitt said the challenge is to balance the interests of the wider community with the best interests of vulnerable populations such as the frail elderly in nursing homes.

Chopp recently pointed out that she and Hewitt have only issued one order each during this public health emergency, and that was the declaration of municipal states-of-emergency. All other directives have come from the province and the medical officer of health.

“We may not always agree with every detail of Shanker’s plan,” Chopp said. “But he is our medical officer of health, and it is our duty to support him in the decisions he makes for the betterment of the community.”

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