WINDSOR, ONT. -- Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens is back home after his family vacation to Israel was “swept up” in travel restrictions forced by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Dilkens landed in Windsor on Monday night with his family.
“This is my favourite city on the planet,” Dilkens said through a video call from his home after arriving back in Canada on Monday night, a day before flights would no longer be available from Jordan. “We’re facing some challenges right now so it’s good to be here, I’m happy to be here. And it’s easier to deal with things when we’re here, even in self-isolation, to deal with things in a regular time zone. It’s a lot better.”
Dilkens and his family will spend the next 14 days in self-isolation, as recommended by public health officials. He says he will still be able to take part in high-level meetings with various levels of government.
“Not dissimilar to the prime minister of the country who has to run Canada under self-isolation, and certainly other mayors, including the mayor of London. It’s just the reality of what we have to deal with,” Dilkens said. “Thankfully with the advent of modern technology that we’re using right now, it’s easy to be able to have communications to deal with what’s happening here.”
Dilkens applauded the efforts of local officials and residents alike for taking matters seriously. He pointed to the fact that Windsor still doesn’t have a confirmed case and precautions, like closing public facilities and social distancing efforts, are proving effective.
“We’re in the business of providing service and human beings, by nature, we’re social beings. People want to be out with other people they want to enjoy their life and have experiences,” he said. “This is our business; it’s the one we’re in. And for us to have to say we’re closing all of these facilities, certainly, it’s not a step we take lightly.”
He also recognized that at some point, a positive case will likely present in Windsor-Essex.
“We expect it will happen. It’s not a matter of if it’s going to happen, it likely will happen, we just don’t know when,” said Dilkens. “It’s good to be prepared and take appropriate precautions beforehand.”
Dilkens said the city, province and federal government are taking extraordinary measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, and people should expect directives to constantly change. For the time being, he is recommending people practice good hygiene and practice social distancing as much as possible.
“We’re not looking at closing down the city and put everyone out of work and have people figure out how to make car payments and mortgage payments and pay for their groceries, that’s not what we’re trying to do,” he said. “We’re trying to get people to be smart, to do what they can do to keep distance between themselves and others and limit social gatherings.”
Dilkens will be on calls with upper levels of government where he will push to ensure there are supports in place for small businesses which operate on small margins and rely on daily income to make ends meet.
“This will take a number of weeks, possibly a number of months to resolve and we’re going to continue to work with our residents and support one another,” he said, stressing the importance of acting in the best interests of the community. “Let’s think of one another as we move through this. We’re going to have to support one another through this process.”
