GUELPH – Wellington County Warden Kelly Linton is urging local residents to continue following public health guidelines to limit the spread of COVID-19.
His plea was made during opening remarks at the Sept. 24 county council meeting.
The meeting was the first with council members in the council chambers in Guelph since pandemic restrictions went into effect in mid-March.
Council meetings since then have been held via teleconference, though a special meeting for a budget update was held on Sept. 14 with councillors both on site and on the phone.
Due to the smaller numbers involved, county committees have been meeting in person since June.
Linton noted there were nine councillors in the chambers and seven dialed in via teleconference for the Sept. 24 session.
Members of the public and media were also required to dial in, rather than attend in person.
“I’m happy that we are moving to a live meeting even though we don’t have everyone here,” said Linton.
“People are not here for different reasons, and I know why people are not here, so it’s great that we do have an opportunity to call in as well.”
Linton pointed out the council chamber seating was reconfigured to facilitate physical distancing.
“We’re all wearing our masks and we’re physically distancing,” said Linton, adding staff attendance was also limited “just to keep the numbers down here.”
The warden continued, “I know the numbers are going a little bit up across the province, but we’re still looking really good in Wellington County because we’re being responsible and we’re physically distancing, the majority of us, and we’re wearing masks.
“So let’s keep it up.”
Linton asked residents to “practice physical distancing, continue to wash your hands, wear a mask when you can’t physically distance yourself and get on with life.
“We absolutely cannot be shut down again, so if we do those few simple things we should be good here.”
The warden also complimented county staff for adapting to “a rapidly changing environment and making sure we’re getting essential services out to our community where they need it.
“All through this COVID pandemic our staff has been excellent,” Linton stressed.
