Coronavirus: What’s cancelled, postponed and still running in the Quinte Region

According to public health officials there are now three confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties, as of Monday morning.

The Ontario Ministry of Health is reporting the latest local case involves a woman in her 20’s who is now self-isolating.  The ministry lists the cause of transmission to be “close contact”.

A week ago, on March 16, Hastings Prince Edward Public Health announced 35 probable cases in the region, and said it’s more than likely the virus has already spread in the area.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic many services, amenities and events have been cancelled or postponed to stop the spread of the virus.

The province has also declared a state of emergency, cancelling and closing down many services Tuesday.

Public health officials are suggesting that people practice social distancing, work from home when possible and wash their hands as much as possible.

To help you plan the following weeks through the novel coronavirus pandemic, Global New has created a list of what is cancelled, postponed and still running in the Quinte region.

Municipal Services:

Access to Belleville City Hall will be restricted to only those persons who have scheduled an appointment. Residents are encouraged to conduct business via telephone or online instead of in-person. Please contact customer service at 613-968-6481.

During this time, residents are encouraged to access online City services:

• Belleville Public Library Resources – https://bellevillelibrary.ca/
• Property Tax Portal and Utilities Portal – https://my.city.belleville.on.ca/
• Building Permit Applications – https://building.belleville.ca/cityviewportal
• Bylaw Complaints – https://building.belleville.ca/cityviewportal
• Public Works Concerns – https://belleville.ca/problem-reporting
• Council and Planning Advisory Committee Livestreams – https://citybellevilleon.civicweb.net/portal/
• Parking Ticket Payment Portal – https://www.belleville.ca/parking
• Marriage License, Death and Birth Certificates – https://www.belleville.ca/city-hall/page/licensing-and-certificates
• Other Payment Options – https://belleville.ca/residents/page/payment-options

Upcoming public events will see the following changes/cancellations for the foreseeable future:

• Ward 2 Town Hall meetings have been cancelled
• Council meetings will be closed to the public, residents are encouraged to stream online
• Non-essential committee meetings are cancelled, statutory meetings will be closed to the public
• All QSWC special events have been cancelled
• All publiciInformation centres will be postponed
• Farmers market has been suspended

Belleville Police have temporarily modified some non-emergency services:

• Members of the community are asked to restrict attending the Belleville police headquarters unless absolutely necessary. In-person record check applications will not be accepted. The record check applications will still be accepted on-line at http://www.police.belleville.on.ca

• Belleville Police Service Headquarters will be closed to the public. Staff will be on scene to screen members of the public between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. before access will be permitted; once you answer brief non-intrusive screening questions related to the COVID-19 health risks.

• If you telephone the police requesting an officer attend for a non-emergent event, you may be asked additional screening questions related to the COVID-19 health risks before an officer is dispatched.

• You may see members of the Belleville Police Service wearing personal protective equipment such as gloves and masks for their own protection.

Quinte West is taking precautions regarding the developing situation with COVID-19 and taking further steps to protect staff and residents.

Effective Monday, March 16 to April 6, 2020 Quinte West City Hall is closed to the public.

A special council meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 1 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall to deal with matters related to COVID-19.

At this time, the city is unable to guarantee that normal application processing and building inspection timelines will be met.

Building inspectors will continue to provide inspection services while taking extra precautions to ensure their health and safety as well as that of the public. Building inspections are to be booked via the city’s inspection booking email at building@quintewest.ca as per normal.

Building permit applications may be dropped off at City Hall by prior arrangement only. To make arrangements for a drop off time, please submit your request via email to building@quintewest.ca. Staff will make every attempt to respond in a timely fashion.

• Duncan McDonald Memorial Community Gardens in Trenton
• Dr. McMullen Recreation Centre in Frankford
• The Quinte West Public Library locations in Trenton and Frankford
• The Public Works Operations Centre
• The Trent Port Marina
• Fire Station No. 1
• Batawa Community Centre

Refunds will be issued for all cancelled bookings. Burn permits can be purchased and issued using our online portal: https://qw.burnpermits.com/.

The following City events will be postponed:

• Quinte Career Fair
• Hops on the Water

The Town of Greater Napanee municipal offices remain open however the town has cancelled all programming, rentals, and events and will close the Strathcona Paper Centre, Selby and South Fredericksburgh halls and the North Fred Lifestyle Centre to the public. This will continue until April 6, 2020.

All Prince Edward County recreation facilities, arenas, museums, town halls and library branches are closed. Use of municipal facilities for community support services will be permitted on a case-by-case basis. All March Break activities at County-operated recreation facilities, museums, and libraries are cancelled.

Municipal offices at Shire Hall and the Edward Building remain open at this time. The municipality is undertaking increased cleaning and disinfecting of common contact points in municipal offices to ensure public safety. In addition, the municipality will restrict access within these municipal offices in order to protect staff. All other municipal departments are closed to the public to protect staff and residents.

Tweed Municipal building is locked due to COVID-19. The office remains in operation, and administration staff are answering your calls 613-478-2535. Essential services are still being offered, the landfill remains open. Residents are asked to exercise distancing when at the waste Site. Due to the upcoming tax installment deadline of March 31, 2020, residents are asked to make payments using the locked drop box at the front of the Municipal Office (preferably cheques as cash is not recommended) or using online or mobile banking.

Deseronto Town Hall will be closed to the public from Tuesday, March 17th to Sunday, April 5th, as a precautionary measure to limit public contact. Staff will continue to work to ensure the operation of the municipality and will provide frequent updates to the municipal website and Facebook page.Municipal staff are available by calling the municipal office at (613) 396-2440 during business hours. In-person business will only be conducted by appointment as deemed necessary and residents are encouraged to use online resources. Tax bill and Water bill payments can be made through telephone or internet banking as well as being dropped through the mail slot by the Town Hall door. Please note that all regularly scheduled pre-authorized payments will be processed as usual. All council and committee meetings during the time period Monday, March 17 to Sunday, April 5 will be postponed. All gatherings at town facilities will be postponed until further notice

All events and rentals scheduled between March 17 and April 5 at the Deseronto Community Centre are cancelled at this time. If you have prepaid for an event please contact Town Hall to arrange for a refund.

Transit and travel disruption:

Belleville Transit will continue to run as scheduled at this time. Residents are asked to practice recommended hygiene etiquette while utilizing transit. Belleville Transit is extending the use of March bus passes until the end of April.Residents may use their March bus pass until April 30, 2020.

Deseronto Transit services will be suspended effective midnight Wednesday, March 18th.

Hospitals/Health Services:

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) has announced that all non-essential public-facing programs and activities offered by the public health unit are being placed on hold until further notice. All public health offices are closed to the public. Plans are being put in place to continue with essential services through other mechanisms such as telephone, email, social media, etc.

Hospice Quinte has indefinitely postponed all of bereavement support groups, Caregiver 101 Training, and Visiting Volunteer Training. The in-person volunteer visiting program will also be discontinued until such time social-distancing is no longer recommended.  Support for community palliative clients will continue by phone.

Hospice Quinte’s 35^th Anniversary Enchanted Garden Gala, originally scheduled for April 4, will be postponed until March 20, 2021. Until further notice, the Hospice Quinte office at the Bayview Mall will be closed to the public. Staff will be on-site at the office to take phone and email inquiries.

H.J. McFarland Memorial Home in Prince Edward County is only allowing essential visitors into the facility. Essential visitors are those who have a resident who is dying or very ill. These visitors will continue to be actively screened before entering H.J. McFarland Memorial Home and will not be allowed to enter if they are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19.

Provincial closures for state of emergency

On Tuesday, premier Doug Ford announced the province is currently under a state of emergency, leading to the closure and cancellations of certain services.

This means all gatherings of 50 or more people should be cancelled, and facilities providing recreational programs, all libraries, private schools , licensed child care centres, bars and restaurants (takeout and delivery excluded) and theatres, cinemas and concert venues must close.

Canadian Armed Forces

Operation LASER (pandemic response) has been activated, impacting operations at 8 Wing Trenton. For a period of three weeks a number of 8 Wing/CFB Trenton personnel will telework and alternate shift timings, while continuing to maintain core operations. In order to maintain air operations at 8 Wing, including search and rescue, only those personnel fulfilling core mandates that require physical presence on the base and those supporting partner agencies as part of Task Force Paratus/Operation Globe (quarantine of returned Canadians) will do so.

Amenities for the vulnerable sector

Shoppers Drug Mart will set aside an hour each day for seniors and people living with disabilities to shop and will provide seniors with a 20 per cent discount on regular-priced items during that window each day.

Safe waste disposal

Tweed landfill remains open.  Residents are asked to exercise distancing when at the waste site.

Deseronto waste and recycling services will continue as per the regular schedule. Deseronto will allow one untagged bag of garbage per residence, per week, from March 17 to April 3. Please note tags will still be available at the local stores that provide them.

Temporary closures for amenities, organizations and services

The following municipal facilities/public events will be closed/cancelled for the next three weeks:

• Quinte Sports & Wellness Centre
• Belleville Public Library including John M. Parrott Art Gallery and Community Archives
• Glanmore National Historic Site
• All Community Centres including Parkdale Community Centre, Hillcrest Community Centre, Gerry Masterson Thurlow Community Centre and Foster Ward Community Centre
• All QSWC special events have been cancelled
• Farmers markets have been suspended
• All public information centres will be postponed 

All events and rentals scheduled between March 17 and April 5 at the Deseronto Community Centre are cancelled at this time. If you have prepaid for an event please contact Town Hall to arrange for a refund.

In conjunction with OLG, Shorelines Casino Belleville has temporarily suspend all casino operations.

The Empire Theatre has suspended movies until further notice.The upcoming live shows at the end of March and first week of April are in the process of being rescheduled.  New dates and times for those shows will be announced soon and at that time Empire Threatre will give patrons the option of keeping their tickets or getting a refund.

Cineplex Glaxay Cinemas Belleville is closed through to April 2, 2020.

Education disruption

All HPEDSB schools will be closed to all students, staff, community groups and the public from March 14 to April 5, 2020.

• During March 16-20, 2020 extensive cleaning and disinfecting will be done at all schools. Contractors scheduled to work in schools during March Break will continue to do so. Following that, all schools will be locked and inaccessible from March 21 to April 5. No staff or school administrators will be permitted to enter schools; this includes maintenance and custodial staff. The only exception will management and supervisors checking school heating and controls systems.
• All schools and administrative buildings are closed to lease and permit holders, including all day child care, before and after school child care and EarlyON programs.
• All community use permits are cancelled.
• Any March Break camps scheduled to be hosted in our schools are cancelled.
• The Education Centre and administrative buildings will be closed to the public.
• The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) scheduled for March 31, 2020 is postponed until further notice.
• Further to the cancellation of international trips announced earlier this week, all school trips, including day trips and extended/overnight trips–are cancelled until further notice. This includes any trips within or outside Ontario.
• All student co-op placements and dual credit programs are cancelled, during this shutdown, and will be re-evaluated once we return to school and normal work structures.
• The Centurion Hoops Basketball Program is postponed until further notice.
• All local negotiations are suspended until further notice.

Loyalist College has suspended classes from March 16 to March 20. All classes will continue through online and alternative delivery methods starting on or before Monday, March 23. Loyalist College has suspended all non-esssential services:

• All labs, shops,dining hall, health centre, student success, career services, student spaces, library, bookstore, spa, etc.
• Students are asked to continue working on your programs remotely, and not to come to the college.
• To reduce pressure for our employees, effective immediately, the college is asking them to work from home, unless their work on campus is required to support alternate delivery of academic programs and keeping basic operating functions going.
• Everyone who enters the college will be required to sign in and out. Students will need to show their student ID. The college is asking students not come to campus if they are feeling ill or have been exposed to someone who has recently travelled or is sick.
• Access within the college will be restricted with limited entrances, for short-term access.
• Residence will be limited to student residents only. We encourage all students who are able to do so, to move home during this time. More residence-specific information will be communicated to residents shortly.

Sports cancellations

• All AHL games, including Belleville Senators games, have been suspended and the league has announced the indefinite suspension of play will not be lifted before May.

Events cancelled or postponed

All Trenton Lions Club bingos and spaghetti dinners are cancelled until further notice.

What’s still on:

• All LCBO and Beer Store locations will remain open, despite the state of emergency across the province.
  • Monday to Friday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Saturday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Sunday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.Quinte Mall will be limiting the hours of operation at the shopping centre.
• These reduced hours will remain in place until further notice. Property access hours remain unchanged as there are a variety of services and tenants that may choose to operate as per their standard hours.

This is an evolving list and will be updated as more information becomes available. Please send notice of any cancellations to newswatch@corusent.com.