WELLINGTON COUNTY – WDG Public Health has issued an order to close Old Order Mennonite schools and churches in Wellington County in the face of rising COVID cases in that community.
Dr. Nicola Mercer, issued the Section 22 order Thursday to address the growing risk of COVID-19 in this community.
“In addition to an increase of COVID-19 cases of the virus and two known outbreaks, the uptake of public health measures has been low,” a press release states.
“Public health has confirmed cases within the community but cannot conduct its contact tracing because this information is not being provided.”
WDG Public Health data shows the first two weeks of November have brought Wellington County to its highest rate of confirmed cases so far during the pandemic.
As of Thursday, Wellington County has 27 active cases with nine new cases confirmed on the same day.
The press release said the intent of the order is to immediately help stop the spread between households and to keep the region as open as possible.
“I am saddened by the need for this extraordinary step,” Mercer said in a press release. “I do not take issuing of Section 22 orders lightly but COVID-19 poses a serious health risk to the Old Order Mennonite Community and to all of us in the region. Sometimes we need to make difficult decisions to prevent the unchecked spread of this virus.”
