The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit has issued a public health order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the Perth and Smiths Falls regions.
As of Tuesday, the health unit has detected 36 active cases in the west part of Lanark County, with 94 cases in the entire catchment area.
According to the health unit, the Section 22 order, an order issued by the medical officer of health to impose new restrictions in the interest of public health, begins Wednesday in the two regions.
A similar order was issued in the Carleton Place region last week to quell the spread from an outbreak first started at a social gathering in the region.
As of Wednesday, all sports facilities must close and cease operations, and all facilities that cater to clubs or organizations must stop operations.
The health unit is allowing places of worship, banquet halls, restaurants and bars to remain open, but has added additional restrictions like reduced capacity.
The order was issued due to a “significant increase of COVID-19 in West Lanark County.”
The health unit says “inconsistent mask use” and environments where social distancing is not being maintained have been factors contributing to the spread of COVID-19.
Also, the health unit said some individuals are going to work with COVID-19 and infecting their co-workers.
“Infection is also spread through close contact in households and with social gatherings, and from there to schools and other workplaces. Some people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic so they are spreading COVID-19 without knowing it,” said Dr. Paula Stewart, medical officer of health for the region.
Stewart is urging locals to follow public health guidelines going forward.
Any failure to comply with the new order can result in fines of up to $5,000 for every day of a breach.
Review the whole Section 22 order on the health unit’s website.