The COVID-19 pandemic dominated headlines across the country in 2021 and it was no different in Prince Edward County.
Mayor Steve Ferguson tells Quinte News that he’s proud of how residents of the county adjusted to the ebbs and flows.
“I’m particularly proud of the way our community rallied and dealt with these changes as they unfolded. That in and of itself is a significant accomplishment and speaks to the character of the residents and businesses of Prince Edward County. It was certainly frustrating. By and large we escaped with very few infections and fatalities, thankfully.”
Since the start of the pandemic there have been 259 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county which is well behind Quinte West, Belleville and Central Hastings.
One noticeable trend in the Quinte area during the pandemic was a boom in construction.
Nowhere was it felt stronger than in Prince Edward County according to Ferguson.
“It’s fair to say that many sectors of our economy bounced back including the construction sector in 2021. We had a pretty significant year in terms of building activity in the province. Year-to-date we’ve processed over 1,100 building permit applications worth an excess of $20 million and I fully expect that we’re going to surpass that by the end of the year.”
He attributes a large part of it to the pandemic and people being able to work from home.
