Our Medical Officer of Health is stressing the importance of COVID-19 protocols as the Southwestern Public Health Unit prepares to possibly move out of lockdown next week.
OXFORD COUNTY - Southwestern Public Health is urging everyone to continue to follow public health guidelines when things start to open back up.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joyce Lock says they are very concerned about COVID-19 variants.
"These mutated viruses may be more contagious, may make you sicker and may prevent the new vaccines from working. We call these variants of concern or VOC's. There are currently 3 known variants of concern circulating internationally, each of these variants have been identified in cases in Ontario."
She adds we will most likely move out of the lockdown on Tuesday and right now our numbers are hovering between the Orange and Red tiers of reopening.
Dr. Lock says the variants remain a huge concern and the public needs to take them seriously.
"These variants have been shown to spread more quickly than the original strain. Because of that, we all need to focus on preventing variants from spreading. I want to remind everyone of the early days of the pandemic, when we were all very diligent in doing public health measures correctly and encouraging those around us to do the same."
Dr. Lock says your face mask should be made of 3 layers.
"One to act as a filter and it should fit snugly around your nose and chin with no gaps, you should wash your hands before and after putting your face covering on and off. You should was your face covering after each use and clean and sanitize your hands before and after you touch objects like door knobs and when you enter or leave buildings like grocery stores."
Also make sure to stay home if you have any symptoms, get tested if you do and stay at least 6 feet apart from everyone outside of your immediate household.
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