St. Stephen’s mayor is ‘deeply concerned’ after a COVID-19 outbreak at a mill located near the Calais border.
Seven employees of the Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville tested positive for the virus earlier this week, prompting the Calais Regional Hospital to announce they would be testing 400 employees on Thursday.
Mayor Allan MacEachern said in a post to Facebook seven of the mill’s employees are Canadian.
He says the town is now counting on residents on both sides of the border to act responsibly.
“You’ve just got to hope the workers were all told to be careful and practice social distancing and isolate if they’re supposed to. We’re just counting on the people in the community to look after themselves at this point,” the mayor said.
Premier Blaine Higgs cited the outbreak in a press briefing on the province’s continuing COVID-19 response on Friday morning.
“These situations drive home how close the virus still is, and how quickly things can change,” Higgs said.
MacEachern says St. Stephen depends on its relationships with cross-border towns, and there are a number of ways the virus could spread.
“We’re deeply connected through workers travelling, suppliers, truck drivers,” MacEachern said.
The mayor’s hope is that residents have been vigilant enough in maintaining public health guidelines they will avoid the outbreak spreading across the border.
He encouraged residents to continue social distancing, frequent hand washing and wearing a mask.
“We’ve been practicing for this since March, and now it’s at our doorstep,” MacEachern said. “Keep doing what we’re doing.”
