The Region of Waterloo and the municipalities it encompasses jointly announced Wednesday that the closure of municipal facilities would continue until May 4 at the earliest in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
They say the decision was made to keep the closures in alignment with schools.
The list of communities which are affected includes the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo as well as the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich.
The closures include playgrounds, sports fields, dog parks, basketball and tennis courts, outdoor community gardens, park shelters, outdoor exercise equipment, condo parks and gardens, and other outdoor amenities.
All regional offices, city halls, municipal administrative offices, arenas, pools, community centres, public libraries, farmers’ markets, playgrounds and skateboard parks are also affected by the announcement.
Emergency services and critical amenities will remain available to people within the region.
Public Health provided an update on Wednesday to the number of people who have contracted the virus.
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In total, it says that 14 more people have contracted COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases to 117.
Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the region’s acting medical officer of health, was asked about the effectiveness of social isolation on Wednesday morning.
“I believe that it’s the most effective measure that we have now given the state that we’re in, which is that we have community transmission of COVID-19,” she said.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are asked to self-isolate for 14 days in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.