FEBRUARY 25, 2021 – CFN collates Covid-19 info on our main facebook page. As many know, yours truly has been focused on Covid since December 2019 and trying, many times facing abuse, to get authorities and stores in Cornwall to take the Pandemic seriously. Many times it feels like Noah’s Ark meets Groundhog Day.

While shopping at Freshco here in Cornwall I had a cashier step away from her cash and waive me to her lane. I shooed her away explaining that she couldn’t just wear a faceshield. No mask, don’t come near me.

Their manager on Duty claimed that the EOHU said that they were fine using just a shield which isn’t true, but calls to their health unit have repeatedly not been returned to me and until only recently the CPS was refusing Covid complaints.

The EOHU’s own website echoes that shields are not enough. PHAC has stated since the Fall that people should wear a minimum of a 3 ply mask. Shield work great with masks, but on their own aerosols escape and with the risk of the variants this will prove deadly.

So it was surprising again when I was at the Freshco in Cornwall this week that the same manager doubled down, again citing the EOHU and that not one, but two cashiers were wearing just shields. Again, no response to my call from the Health Unit, but this time a by law officer did call me back saying that they emailed the health unit and that they would look into it.

But based on the allegations of the store’s acting manager the EOHU itself should be charged if in fact they gave the store the greenlight. They certainly should not be the arbiter in this situation.

From the EOHU website:

“A mask is defined as a face covering that can filter respiratory droplets, and that securely covers the nose, mouth, and chin without gapping. A mask may be a non-medical mask, medical mask or other face covering (e.g. a bandana, scarf or cloth face covering).”

Not up to PHAC standards which is scary, but clearly faceshields do not fit that minimum description as the by law officer agreed. He also stated his boss was the one that instigated him reaching out to the EOHU while admitting that the faceshield use was confirmed.

Clearly in February 2021 we are far past education. Stores like Freshco need to be fined, and publicly so we can be aware of their practices.

Same with Kiddie Korner which saw a picture in the Seaway News with the owner’s wife not wearing any covering with the owner claiming that she’s exempt. Those exemptions are not for staff that come into contact with the public. And they certainly are not obligatory or mandatory.

We are about to see the beginning of the Third Wave of Covid which will see the toughest lockdowns to date because of the severity of the Variants. This isn’t a maybe situation, especially with the insane capitulation to our Friends in Akwesasne who have numbers as high as Cornwall while having less than 25% of our population. While nearly 400 Million Canadians and Americans are not allowed to drive over the border unless they are essential workers, 23,000 Akwesasne residents drive freely, regardless of their exposure which just might be a factor in Cornwall & SD&G’s numbers being so high.

We need to all pull together to get through this Pandemic, especially as governments across the board have let us down, from failing to get vaccines rolling, to having flimsy rules that aren’t even enforced strongly enough, if at all.

In the meanwhile, because of such behavior, people aren’t able to get medical procedures they need and our economy gets impacted.

Frankly it’s insane and clearly shows that we truly do get the government we collectively deserve.

We can and must do better.

jamie@cornwallfreenews.com

1 Comment

  1. How come also the twsp of south Glengarry has allowed new ppl joining fire dept to train without mask worn while disallowing ppl who are member to even walk into the station and have also cancelled fire member from going to calls where the full time chief is standing there no mask or protection less then 6ft away from ppl who are possible covid positive? So many question I have been on the fire department for over 20 years and I am starting to think there covid idiots running wild thru out this whole area. Ppl just run others who speak up away as outcasts and run them out of volunteering in groups of clicks. South Glengarry has so many of them it’s sickening and we need change starting with trying to figure out why a fire chief and training officer make over 170k combined while firefighters make 17 dollars a hour and are harassed when they don’t attend training or actual calls when they work a full time job and can’t see why ppl don’t leave there full time job on there demand. We need change starting with starting to make ppl see covid is real and it’s stupid ppl who are letting it spread starting with a simple fire training with no mask and no sanitizer and when asked are told it’s not in the budget

    Thanks

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