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Collingwood considering restricting rec facilities to residents in orange zone or lower

The plan is in response to a recommendation from the region's medical officer of health to prohibit entry to municipal recreational facilities of those living in the red or grey zones
EddieBush
Eddie Bush Memorial Arena in Collingwood. Erika Engel/CollingwoodToday

Collingwood council is being asked to endorse a plan to restrict use of the town’s recreational facilities to people whose primary residence is in a region outside of the red or grey locked down zones.

Under the province’s COVID-19 response framework, there are five colour-coded levels of restrictions, including green, yellow, orange, red, or grey (lockdown). Collingwood and the rest of Simcoe-Muskoka region are under orange restrictions. Toronto and Peel are in grey and neighbouring York Region is under red restrictions. 

The medical officer of health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, Dr. Charles Gardner, issued a letter to all the municipalities in the region strongly recommending they prohibit access to their recreational facilities by anyone residing in a red or grey zone. 

He said he was providing it as advice, and not as a requirement. 

The COVID-19 framework states those in red and grey zones should not be travelling outside of their regions except for essential purposes such as work, medical appointments, or education. 

As part of the agenda for a Nov. 30 Corporate and Community Services Standing Committee meeting, the council members on that committee are being asked to endorse CAO Sonya Skinner’s direction that Collingwood should limit the use of its facilities to those whose primary residence is within the same or lower level of the provincial framework as the Simcoe Muskoka Region. Currently, that’s any region in green, yellow, or orange status. 

Council has not voted on the matter yet, nor is there a draft policy attached to the agenda. The committee meeting takes place Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. 


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Erika Engel

About the Author: Erika Engel

Erika regularly covers all things news in Collingwood as a reporter and editor. She has 15 years of experience as a local journalist
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