‘Validated:’ Ottawa coalition of BIAs on two per cent of COVID-19 cases linked to restaurants, bars
Posted Oct 30, 2020 10:34:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Ottawa business owners finally have answers after asking the provincial government to lay out evidence for why further restrictions were imposed on October 10, including a 28-day halt to indoor dining, the closure of gyms, bars and more.
On Thursday, the COVID-19 Advisory for Ontario revealed that only two per cent of outbreaks in Ottawa, since August 1, were connected to restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
“A lot of frustration, but not a lot of surprise,” says Chair of the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas (OCOBIA) Mark Kaluski, “knowing that all along, this data was there that supported our point that the restaurants are bearing a disproportionate amount of the impacts of the closures.”
He says the numbers are proof that they can operate safely, and proof that they have been doing so all along.
“I mean there have been more cases in beer stores, in pharmacies,” says Kaluski.
He tells 1310 NEWS that the latest round of closures, while devastating for the bottom line of business owners, have also had a massive impact on reputation.
“Somehow with the province closing down indoor dining, it signals that somehow restaurants are an unsafe place to go.”
The head of the OCOBIA is now looking ahead to the end of the 28-day shutdown and is optimistic that business will be able to reopen their doors.
