Belleville city council met Monday night to decide if the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre would be the new site for COVID-19 vaccinations.
By Laural Samson [1]
BELLEVILLE – The Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre will be the new site for COVID-19 vaccinations, Belleville city council decided Monday night.
When passing the motion, council went through a round of questions to figure out details of the new vaccination spot.
Coun. Chris Malette was the first with a question about transportation to and from the Cannifton Road building.
Rod Bovay, chief administrative officer for Belleville, responded, “At this point, there has been no discussion on the technical details, there is just simply a request.”
The question of the former Quinte Secondary School on College Street being used instead of the sports and wellness centre was raised by Coun. Garnet Thompson. Mayor Mitch Panciuk said that the former school, which was closed in 2018, is already being used for Covid-related purposes.
“My understanding is that the Quinte Secondary School site will continue to be used as a COVID-19 testing centre until at least June,” Panciuk said. “And that is an agreement between Quinte Health Care and the (public) school board to use that facility because Quinte Health Care actually runs the testing at the site.”
Using a section of the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre is the best choice for the next round of vaccinations, Panciuk said.
“They really like this location because it can be easily separated from the rest of the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre. As Coun. Malette said, there is transit, there is plenty of parking. You can enter and exit from that area without going into other parts of the facility. It can also be made available through the summer.”
The building will be ready for vaccinations starting by March and continuing until after the Labour Day weekend, he said.
“They are still quite optimistic about how this is rolling out,” Panciuk said about the Ontario government’s plan [2] to head into Phase 2 vaccinations in April. Phase 2 involves vaccinating frontline essential workers and other individuals in high-risk categories.
“So while the date here says March, we may actually be able to provide it earlier if they need it. So we will see.”
Phase 3 will be for whoever in the general population has not yet been vaccinated. The Ontario government has said it will begin in August, pending the availability of vaccines.