GUELPH POLITICAST #228 - Still COVID with Doctor Mercer

Our area has been under Stage 2 of the re-opening for nearly a month now, and people are eagerly looking for signs that we might soon enter the final stage. Still, our position is precarious. We see what is happening in the United States, and if there’s one thing that we can all agree on, it’s that we do not want to re-enter lockdown. So shall we get a doctor’s advice on how to avoid all that?

This week, we're joined by Dr. Nicola Mercer, who is the Medical Officer of Health for Wellington County, Dufferin County and Guelph. It seems like a million years ago, but Dr. Mercer appeared on the podcast barely four months ago at the beginning of March when a COVID-19 outbreak in Canada still seemed like a theoretical exercise. It was barely two weeks later that everything started shutting down; we went from a regular day’s routine of work, school and errands, to three months of lockdown and quarantine and empty streets, and it's been a long way back.

Now, four months later, Dr. Mercer joins us again as we look ahead, as well as behind, about the local response to COVID-19 so far. She will talk about how the medical advice on masks evolved over the course of the pandemic, and whether or not they will now be a regular part of life. She also discuss how the virus is spreading now in the Guelph area, and the best tips on how to avoid it as we go out more. And finally, she will offer her insights on how we will move to Stage 3, when the local state of emergency will end, and how public health is preparing for that eventual return of COVID-19 in the fall and winter. 

So let's talk about the past, present and future of the pandemic in our region on this week's Guelph Politicast!

There’s a Board of Health Meeting Wednesday July 8 at 2:30 pm where we will get an update on the local battle of COVID-19 from the public health perspective. And for all advice public notices regarding COVID-19, or any public health matter, you can go to the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health website here.

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