Kawartha Lakes Mayor looking for residents to take this pandemic seriously

DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, for The Standard

KAWARTHA LAKES: City of Kawartha Lakes Mayor Andy Letham is reminding residents this COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet. “Some people seem to have the attitude the pandemic is over, that everything is back to normal. I want to assure everybody it is not. That is an attitude that will certainly put us right back to where we were a couple of months ago, if we’re not careful. We’ve always had a very open attitude in Kawartha Lakes, to welcome people to responsibly visit our businesses and visit the Kawartha Lakes, because of everything we have to offer. But we need to remind people we are still in a state of emergency, and that is for a reason,” Mayor Letham said, during a telephone press conference, on Wednesday, June 24th. He stressed the importance of acting responsibly during this pandemic. “We don’t want you in Kawartha Lakes, if you’re going to bring an irresponsible attitude with you,” Mayor Letham opined. “I have no patience for people who are not taking this seriously.” The Mayor said he’s heard concerns from local business owners about people not respecting the COVID-19 rules. “Just hearing some feedback from some of the local businesses and working groups that they’re a little bit concerned.” Mayor Letham clarified, these concerns have to do with some people showing “a lack of a caring attitude” and “just not adhering to the distancing.” But, Mayor Letham told The Standard he hasn’t heard any enforcement related concerns from the City’s bylaw enforcement employees. “I haven’t heard, from bylaw, anything out of the norm. They are still, just like the police, responding to the odd call for gatherings or such, but for all of it, they are issuing warnings and most people are understanding and doing what they need to do. Obviously a lot of [the concerns] aren’t being reported, when they are going on out there, but bylaw is not telling me that they are running around out of control with a lot of issues or complaints, at this point,” he explained.