ANTIGONISH: The warden for the Municipality of the County of Antigonish says the important thing is getting over the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, when everyday life returns to some sense of normalcy.
He said this is a good time to support local businesses.
“I think like everything, small business have been impacted there’s no question,” Owen McCarron said. “The area was doing pretty well, things were rolling along, and all of a sudden with this lockdown there’s more pressure.”
Following the Antigonish County’s regular monthly council meeting on May 11, the warden advised while it’s been tough for business owners since the start of the pandemic, the recently imposed restrictions are creating even more concern.
“They’re hanging on, there’s no question, and they’ve been doing a lot of things and working hard to hang on,” McCarron said. “If we can just get through this next little period, we get the vaccinations rolling out and get things back to a bit of normal, we’re hopeful that the businesses will be able to survive.”
While the restrictions are impacting local small businesses, at this point, all of the county’s municipal services are up and running, something senior staff has been very pleased with.
McCarron indicated the transition to working from home happened quickly and smoothly, and that the only municipal service that’s been affected was the recreation department’s equipment loan program.
“It was easier for sure, obviously with the numbers trending upwards quickly in the province and following the lead from public health, we made the quick pivot to get people working from home,” he said. “The rest of the organization, people are working in teams and those teams don’t cross over.”
McCarron explained he hopes recently announced financial support announced by their provincial counterparts will bring a sense of relief to local business owners.