Deer Lake municipal buildings reopening as small COVID-19 cluster stabilizes

The Town of Deer Lake is set to begin gradually reopening some of its municipal buildings on Saturday, after closing them down due to a small cluster of COVID-19 cases.

Those cases including one in an elementary school sprang upin the community overthe last two weeks, prompting town officials to turn out the lights at several public facilities.

The Hodder Memorial Recreation Centre will reopen to the public on Saturday.The town is reminding groupstoreview the safety measurespreviously established for arenas, outlined on the provincial government's COVID-19 website.

The Deer Lake town office will resume operations Monday.

Businesses in Deer Lake that were asked to cease regular operations can now begin to reopen, based on their own protocols, according to a town media release.

"The co-operation and dedication of Deer Lake residents in controlling the spread of this virus in our community is truly remarkable," said Mayor Dean Ball in the media release.

"This virus has changed our daily lives significantly, [and]this surely hasn't been an easy time for anyone. I am confident that our united commitment and community spirit will carry us forward as we deal with the COVID-19 virus."

On Wednesday Fitzgerald said public health is still keeping an eye on small clusters of COVID-19 cases throughout the province,including in Deer Lake.

"Some people in Grand Bank have gotten through their isolation periods, but not everyone has. So we're still following up, and same for Deer Lake we're only about halfway through that," said Fitzgerald in Wednesday's live COVID-19 briefing.

"We're watching things closely. Anyone who was a close contact may go on to develop symptoms,so that's certainly something we're watching out for. But, by and large, we know what's happening there and we feel comfortable with where we are now."

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