'Unnecessary panic': Aurora and Newmarket business owners challenge COVID-19 rules

'This is about potentially preventing something much worse,' health minister says

Yorekregion.com
November 3, 2020
Lisa Queen

In a letter to Premier Doug Ford, husband and wife business partners Karthik Raj and Barb Bushe pull no punches in describing the fallout they see caused by the COVID-19 pandemic Stage 2 restrictions imposed on York Region.

“Your actions are responsible for bankrupting small businesses, destroying families and potentially putting our children and other vulnerable citizens at severe risk,” wrote the owners of Newmarket’s Point of Light for the past seven years.

The restrictions don’t apply to their store, which offers natural, holistic and spiritual products and classes, but consequences of the lockdown have forced them to cut staff and reduce their hours.

Raj and Bushe are part of a growing groundswell of Aurora and Newmarket residents and business owners battling against the restrictions.

The movement comes as York Region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Karim Kurji, advised that the 28-day regulations in place until Nov. 15 will likely be extended as the region’s COVID-19 cases exceed what the provincial government deems acceptable.

It also comes as critics question why the province didn’t extend the restrictions to Halton and Durham regions, a decision that came after politicians in those communities argued against them, although the government said it wasn’t swayed by the campaign.

Under York Region’s restrictions, indoor restaurants, bars, nightclubs and food courts are closed, along with gyms, movie and performing arts theatres and casinos.

Indoor gatherings are capped at 10 people while outdoor get-togethers can include no more than 25 people.

Others who are voicing concerns with the restrictions include Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas and Aurora restaurant owner Joey Anselmo.

Health Minister and Newmarket-Aurora MPP, Christine Elliott, said her government continues to work with Ontario’s chief medical officer of health and local public health units to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Raj and Bushe’s letter to Ford, which they said has been signed by more than 140 residents and business owners, presents the premier with what they call compelling research and arguments against the restrictions.

Citing reports from Health Canada showing flu cases are down this year compared to the previous six years, they wonder if flu cases are being misdiagnosed as COVID-19 cases.

They say there has been an “exorbitant” increase in COVID-19 testing since April but that doesn’t mean a high fatality rate.

“Why are we comparing current statistics with April and creating unnecessary panic?” they asked Ford.

Their research of government documentation and statements by top health officials indicates hospitals are not overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, at least 94 per cent of people who contract the virus recover, the average age of Canadians infected who died is 80.6 and at least 50 per cent of them were living with a chronic condition.

The “collateral damage” of the restrictions is “devastating effects” on the economy, patients with other serious health problems being turned away for treatment and on Canadians’ mental health, their letter argued.

“We believe the government is being irresponsible in its overstatement of the dangers and causing unwarranted fear, panic and divisiveness amongst the population,” they added in an email to yorkregion.com.

“We are not alone in questioning this. There are many reputable scientists, doctors, lawyers and politicians locally and globally that are asking the same questions.”

Elliott said the restrictions were imposed on York Region after its case rate increased by 49 per cent to 38.7 per 100,000 residents, above the provincial average.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region doubled over a week in late October, the infection rate is increasing and the number of patients requiring and ICU bed and a ventilator went up, Elliott said.

“This was not an easy decision. We know that we are asking very real sacrifices of Ontarians but this is about potentially preventing something much worse,” she said in an email.

But others remain unconvinced.

Mrakas argues against the blanket shutdown of gyms and restaurants, a sentiment that has been echoed by Aurora Chamber of Commerce president Sandra Ferri.

Anselmo and his family have owned the Harvey’s and Swiss Chalet restaurant at Yonge Street and Henderson Drive in Aurora since 1984.

Revenue has plummeted 70 per cent since March but was slowly coming back before the newest restrictions were imposed.

With personal protective equipment (PPE), barriers, online staff training and countless hours of disinfecting in place, Anselmo questions why the government is punishing all restaurants rather than those failing to put proper safety measures in place.

“We want to be part of the solution, not blamed as being part of the problem,” he said.