London City Hall (credit: XFM News).
London’s N6A postal code had 28.97 per cent of COVID tests come back positive the week ending April 3. This was the highest province wide, more significant than the hardest hit areas in the Peel and Toronto regions. Within this postal code is Western University, who currently have eight active outbreaks at residences.
These concerning numbers have lead to London’s three New Democratic MPPs to take action. The three local politicians in question, Peggy Sattler, Teresa Armstrong, and Terence Kernaghan, sent a letter the Premier Doug Ford stating that “The situation is dire” in hopes of requiring more resources and vaccines for the N6A area. Terence Kernaghan, who represents London North Centre explains why he along with his colleagues felt it important to send this letter.
“It was the news that almost 30 per cent of all test results in the N6A postal code came back positive, and so I spoke with the other MPP’s, Teresa Armstrong for London-Fanshawe, and Peggy Sattler for London-West. We wrote a letter to designate the N6A postal a provincial hotspot. We need to make sure there are more mobile vaccine clinics and that there are additional vaccines for frontline workers. Also that there is additional funding for contact tracing as well as testing. We need to make sure we get on top of this virus.”
MPP Kernaghan goes on to address the high number of students testing positive over the past few weeks in the region.
“With students, it’s important to realize that many of them are also essential workers, they’re working on the front lines and they haven’t been given the vaccine by this government. You know, it has been such a shame to watch the provincial government blunder and bluster into yet another third wave, they haven’t learned lessons from the first or second wave, and that would have meant there had been adequate supports and that lockdowns had been short and sharp, and that there was funding administered as necessary.”
London Mayor Ed Holder has also been vocal in his belief the city should be considered a provincial hotspot, but stated the extra resources that would come along with this would not immediately solve the issues London is facing.
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