Saint Andrews Mayor Addresses COVID-19 Crisis

Mayor Doug Naish of the Town of Saint Andrews provided residents with an update on how the town has been responding to COVID-19.

"It's been a whirlwind here just like it has been everywhere around the world, but I'm so proud of everyone in Saint Andrews for how they have stepped up to the plate and adapted to a whole new order of the world," said Naish. "Changing life-long personal habits is incredibly hard to change."

Naish went on to address how the town staff and council have responded to the pandemic. "I have to praise our town staff. They are excellent. There was no reluctance to do what needed to be done, and everyone is on duty still but taking precautions," said Naish. "And that's been made easier by the fact that we know our community so well and know everyone in it."

Naish said many local events and activities have already been cancelled. Organizers in the community took the initiative to cancel events that could jeopardize the health of the community. "Paddlefest has been happening for 24 years, and there's an excellent group of people who organize it," said Naish. "The organizers got together, and they came to me and said, 'We don't see how we could safely do this, so we are cancelling it this year.' Right now we are grappling with what to do about Canada Day. Last year, we had 10,000 in and out of town on Canada Day. We can't do that this year."

Naish highlighted how effective the town's volunteer delivery program has been at helping vulnerable citizens stay safely at home. Naish also took the opportunity to strongly advice day-trippers from visiting the town while the a State of Emergency is in effect across New Brunswick.