Windsor's mayor is still working remotely, but at home now, not Jordan.
Drew Dilkens arrived back in Windsor late Monday night after catching one of the last flights out of Jordan, where he was vacationing with his family.
When he left, the situation was very different. The World Health Organization had yet to declare COVID-19 a global pandemic. Canada had only a handful of confirmed cases.
On Friday, all of that changed. Once the pandemic was declared, Jordan moved to cancel all international flights, leaving Dilkens and his family scrambling to try and get back to Windsor.
"It put a run on all of the available seats to try and leave early. There were no available seats to leave early," he explained. "I'm not unlike so many others who booked a vacation around this time of year and had a hard time scheduling to get home."
BlackburnNews.com asked if he was ever afraid he would not be able to get a flight out.
"What I was more concerned about was not being here at a time that people in the community are dealing with something we've never had to deal with," he admitted.
The federal government has urged those returning from abroad to self-isolate for two weeks. Dilkens is set up in his home office.
Since his return, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has shut down the border to all non-Canadians, except Americans. However, with questions remaining about the availability of tests and the ability to track the virus state-side, Dilkens confessed a full shutdown is not inconceivable.
"The signals that are being sent politically indicate that the next possible step could be a thickening of the border, to passenger vehicles," he said. "But the last thing we want to do is just completely shut down the economy -- but at some point, we also have to mitigate all the risks globally."
Dilkens also praised Ontario Premier Doug Ford's decision to declare a state of emergency in the province.
The City of Windsor had already shut down all recreation facilities.
"This provides clarity because there were some who were concerned yesterday with the announcement by our local Medical Officer of Health [Dr. Wajid Ahmed] that it was a recommendation to close restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Now that the Premier has declared a state of emergency, you can actually mandate that," he explained.
The announcement also opens up resources for the healthcare system.
Until the pandemic subsides, Dilkens is urging residents to hunker down. Spend time with family. Watch Netflix, and think about the wellbeing of others.
"All of us have mothers and fathers, many of us still have grandparents that are living, and we all know someone who is somehow immune-compromised," he said. "Just think of those people."
