It’s “mission accomplished” and time to move on, says Dr. Matt Strauss, Haldimand-Norfolk’s acting medical officer of health.
Speaking at a health and social services advisory committee meeting on Monday, Strauss said he will be leaving his post as of April. 1.
“I’m so proud of this community and grateful for the opportunity,” Strauss said. “I think that what we did here has had a ripple effect through the province.
“It remains the case that the pandemic is over and I feel that my mission is accomplished.”
While it might have made sense a year-and-a-half ago to commute and work remotely from Kingston, Strauss said now, as a new father, it makes no sense for him to do so.
Strauss called his decision “bittersweet” but said it is time to move on.
“It was my honest intention to settle down here but it didn’t work out,” Strauss said in a later interview. “I loved my time here and I will always hold the community in my heart.”
Strauss said he wouldn’t feel right about working remotely from home a couple of days a week when everyone else is showing up at the office every day.
“I don’t want to do a shoddy job,” he said.
Medical officers of health need to live in the community they serve. It’s the only way to have your finger on the pulse of the community, Strauss said.
It was different when everyone was working remotely, he added.
Strauss was appointed acting medical officer of health in 2021. His appointment generated a lot of media attention and controversy in response to his views on dealing with the pandemic. Strauss was not a supporter of lockdown measures.
Despite the controversy, the Haldimand-Norfolk Board of Health stuck with the hiring decision.
There were also calls for his appointment to be vetoed by the province.
“It was one of the most intense experiences of my life,” Strauss said of the controversy.
Strauss said he was attacked by various media outlets, was getting a lot of requests for interviews as well as e-mails asking him to answer a list of questions.
“But I was so impressed with the board of health, particularly the mayor at the time (Kristal Chopp),” Strauss said. “They called bullshit on all of that and all I was advocating for was common sense.
“I’m so proud of this community for standing by me and for common sense.”
Strauss said he made good friends with farmers in the community and learned a great deal about farming during his tenure.
“Rural communities thrive because of their common sense approach,” he said. “They could tell vaccine mandates and restaurant closures and the like we’re not having the impact they were supposed to.”
He noted Haldimand-Norfolk had 30 per cent less COVID mortality than the provincial average.
There have been 96 deaths in the two counties attributed to COVID since the pandemic began in 2020, the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit reported in its most recent update.
On Jan. 4, the health unit reported there were 18 people who were receiving care in hospital for COVID-19. The health unit also reported 136 cases in the period from Dec. 21 to 31, although not all cases are reported to public health.
Strauss said he has a lot to unpack in terms of what he learned from his experience as as Haldimand-Norfolk’s top public health official. He is looking forward to a time of reflection and plans to do a lot of writing as well as fulfilling some intensive care unit shifts at his home hospital in Guelph.
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