Springwater's Claire Burgoyne only leaves her house to walk her dogs Romeo and Perry.
With the latest provincial stay-at-home order restrictions in place, to tamp down the rising number of COVID-19 cases that tallied 3,469 on April 20, Burgoyne, who works from home, says she doesn’t leave the house too often.
“Even for grocery shopping, we use an Instacart and they pick up the food and deliver it,” Burgoyne said of the grocery delivery service.
Since April 16, the province has restricted outdoor gatherings to members of the same household and put a halt to outdoor recreational sports and fitness activities.
Grocery and pharmacy store capacity limits have been reduced to 25 per cent of the stores’ original stock, and restaurants are offering pick-up or delivery service only.
Township facilities are closed to the public and restrictions now limit building permits and outdoor commercial construction, except for hospitals, roads and bridges. Tennis and basketball courts are off limits, as are using outdoor pavilions.
After an initial false start, playgrounds will remain open, but climbing equipment and swings will not have been sanitized.
The provincewide stay-at-home order has been extended until at least the first week of May.
Diane Hamilton of Barrie said she will continue to walk her two golden retrievers alone for the time being.
“If it wasn’t for this park, I really don’t know what we would do,” Hamilton said at the sports complex.
“You see young families on bikes out here because there’s very few places you can go right now. I feel sorry for them,” she said.
As for the restrictions, she says patience is key.
“I figure they (the provincial government) are doing the best they can with this legislation, so we’ll just do what we can do for now.”
Cheryl Browne, Local Journalism Initiative, Barrie Advance. The LJI is a federally funded program.
