PORT HAWKESBURY - Businesses, churches, and public gathering spaces in this small Cape Breton town have done their part to follow social-distancing protocols at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic's first wave, and Port Hawkesbury Town Council and municipal staff are following suit.

In an interview with TELILE 24/7 host Adam Cooke, Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton declared that town officials "quickly came together" to address the issues surrounding Nova Scotia's state of emergency and lockdown procedures. The town's Pandemic Plan was quickly drawn up in late March, and a committee overseeing the launch of this plan met every weekday during late March and throughout April, with this same committee still meeting three times a week during May. 

While the Port Hawkesbury Community Playground and all town recreation facilities remain closed, the town has joined forces with its Canadian Tire franchise to provide a weekly rental of athletic equipment to local families. The equipment is dropped off at the home of its renter or renters at the beginning of the week and then picked up at the same doorstep, sanitized and prepared for further rentals at the end of the week. 

While the Port Hawkesbury Pandemic Plan has seen the closure of many local businesses and public events, as well as an indefinite postponement for a green-cart compost pickup that was slated to get under way in April, Chisholm-Beaton suggested that town residents, business owners and other local stakeholders have shown great resilience, and she thanked them all for their patience during this unprecedented time.