Class order issued to combat COVID-19 in HPEPH

The Medical Officer of Health for Hastings Prince Edward Public Health has issued a new Class Order to try and curb the spread of COVID-19. Dr. Piotr Oglaza issued the class order yesterday under Section 22 of the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act.

In the last week, Hastings and Prince Edward Counties has seen 37 active cases of COVID-19 with eight of them reported on Monday.

The class order came into effect on Tuesday, March 30^th at 12:01 am and is issued to all persons in or present in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties.

The order is as follows:

1. Accept reservations/bookings for dining, hotel/motel accommodation, or personal services only for individuals residing within Hastings and Prince Edward counties (Exception: booking of accommodation is permitted for individuals who are travelling to our region for essential reasons, i.e. health care staff, medical appointments, and emergencies, and are in need of housing; and such reservations can not include seating in a food premises or personal services settings appointments).
2. All short-term accommodations (e.g. Airbnb’s, B&B’s, cottages) are immediately closed, including all bookings made prior to March 30, 2021 (Exception: booking of accommodation is permitted for individuals who are travelling to or within our region for essential reasons, i.e. health care staff, medical appointments, and emergencies, and are in need of housing).
3. No person shall host or attend any indoor or outdoor social gatherings with more than five (5) persons that is held at a private dwelling, condominium, apartment building and or student residence. (Exception: does not impact occupancy limits for places of business and does not include a gathering held at a place of business or an organization held for reasons related to the operations of the business or an organization).
4. All food and drink establishments must close to the public between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m., with limited exceptions (e.g. to pick up or pay for a takeout order).
5. All food and drink establishments must seat no more than 5 people together at a table.
6. All food services and personal service settings must record contact information for all patrons (Exception: need not collect contact information for pick-up/carry-out orders).
7. All retail businesses must have a safety plan that is in writing, available on request, and posted in a conspicuous place.
8. All retail businesses and food and drink establishments must ensure music played is no louder than the volume of a normal conversation.
9. The person responsible for a business or place that is open must not permit patrons to line up inside, or to line up or congregate outside unless maintaining a physical distance of at least two metres from other groups of persons and wearing an appropriate mask/face covering.
10. All staff at retail businesses and food and drink establishments must wear appropriate personal protective equipment if providing services within 2 metres of another person who is not wearing a mask or face covering and are not separated by an impermeable barrier (e.g., plexiglass). Protection of the eyes, nose, and mouth is required (i.e., goggles or face shields and surgical or procedural masks). This includes personal service settings and eating establishments where patrons temporarily remove their mask in order to receive services.