By Chris Lewis | Mar. 25, 2021
Mount Pearl Deputy Mayor Jim Locke had a blunt and heartfelt message for his fellow councillors and citizens on Tuesday: “You do not want to get COVID,” he said during the regular bi-weekly meeting of council.
Locke, a department head and social studies teacher at Mount Pearl Senior High, which was hit by a cluster of Covid-19 cases tied to an especially contagious variant of the virus earlier this year, was one of the many students and teachers who got infected.
After missing two previous meetings of council, Tuesday marked Locke’s return to the chamber, though like his colleagues, in a virtual sense given that everyone was meeting online due to the provincial government’s restrictions against in-person group meetings.
Mount Pearl’s most recent meeting of council on Tuesday, March 23 saw the return of Deputy Mayor Jim Locke, who had been absent from the previous two meetings for unspecified reasons.
Locke said he has been fighting the virus and its impact since around February 6.
And while he was happy to report that he is no longer infected, the deputy mayor admitted he is still dealing with the virus’ after effects.
“I want to remind our residents that you have to stay vigilant,” Locke said. “You’ve got to wear your mask. You have to wash your hands. You have to socially distance. This is not something to play with.”
Locke said for him personally, he has lost a lot of energy, and his breathing ability is not back to where he is used to it being.
“It’s real, and it’s not pleasant,” he admitted. “But, on that note, I do want to take this opportunity to acknowledge all members of our healthcare providers. From the nurses that swabbed me three times up at the Reid Community Centre, the X-ray technicians, and I had to go to the emergency (department) on one occasion. The service has been absolutely top notch. These individuals in our healthcare have been going steady, full-out, for over a year right now … We don’t want to tax the system any more than it is already being taxed.”
