They're virus fighters, not the fun police

Look, don't label the region's two top doctors as the fun police, party-poopers, killjoys or sticks in the mud.

It's just that a couple weeks into the fall school term, they've seen enough — too many big, unregulated private parties, too many crammed nightclub dance floors, too many people wandering around restaurants and bars, maskless and mingling.

Given the rumblings of big Western University Homecoming and Fake Homecoming (Foco) bashes this weekend, Middlesex-london Health

Unit put its foot down early and issued two Section 22 orders under the Health Protection and Promotion Act aimed at bars and restaurants and at those potentially humungous street parties a la Broughdale Avenue.

The orders reinforce restrictions already in place. Restaurants and bars must require patrons and employees to wear masks at all times, unless for eating or drinking and only while sitting in a designated area. So, masks on the dance floor and no wandering around with drink in hand.

Outdoor social gatherings and public events are capped at 100 people and at 25 for indoor gatherings. That includes street bashes and house parties.

Fines have been set at $750 for individuals and $1,000 for organizations and if there are repeated violations, fines can escalate to $5,000 per person and $25,000 for organizations. Police, bylaw officers, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario officers and public health inspectors can all issue tickets.

“We know that's not going to solve all the problems that exist, but for some people, we hope that that will help them make a better decision,” said medical officer of health Chris Mackie at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.

At first glance, this all seems a bit heavy-handed, given that post-secondary students are supposed to be double-vaccinated and on Wednesday, Ontario begins its vaccine certificate program restricting access to various venues without proof of shots.

The problem has been what happens once people are admitted to a managed establishment, or when they have a great, big private party.

`We're not against partying. We're not against drinking. We're not against dancing,” said Mackie. “It's about doing those things as safely as possible. We really encourage people to party small and avoid large gatherings of any kind.”

The problem is the party crasher. The Delta variant is still flourishing in Ontario and can spread from vaccinated to unvaccinated people.

If Ontario is to avoid the spiking case counts and deaths seen in Alberta and Saskatchewan, restrictions are needed to keep gatherings small with proper masking and physical distancing “as we try and get more people vaccinated and fully understand the impact of the Delta wave,” said Alex Summers, the region's associate medical officer of health.

“We're just not out of the woods yet,' Summers said. “I think that's the key message for students or for young people or for people of all ages as they try to wrap their head around what their fall will look like this year.”

What's also troubling is some vaccinated and unvaccinated people who've been at large parties aren't getting tested when they experience symptoms, perhaps because they're embarrassed or want to protect party organizers. That means there's likely a lot more virus here than we know.

“You can see undetected spread might be even more dangerous because then we're not doing that case control and contact management,” said Mackie. “So it's really important that if anyone comes out of these events and has symptoms that you go and get tested.”

The vaccine is very effective, but it's not foolproof. A fully vaccinated woman in her 80s died a week ago. Issuing the orders is about “stemming the spread.”

So how long will these orders stick around? “I wish I had a crystal ball to answer that sort of question,” Mackie said.

Summers says we are in the home stretch.

“We are well on our way in the big scheme of things for this being over, which means that you're not going to have to go to Dr. Mackie or myself for advice before you have a party anymore, because I can assure you we don't throw the best parties either.”

But as long as Delta is looking for a bash, even this homecoming weekend, we shouldn't send out any invitations.

We're just not out of the woods yet. I think that's the key message . . . for people of all ages . . .