Botwood mayor urges vaccination as town's COVID-19 death toll rises

The newly elected mayor of Botwood has only been on the job a few weeks and is already facing a town tragedy.

Two people in the central Newfoundland town died over the weekend, marking the 14th and 15th deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began and serving as a reminder of how deadly the fourth wave has been. In the first year and a half under the pandemic, the province marked seven deaths — but in the past month alone, eight people have died.

"It's close to home. Everyone in town, or say 70 per cent … would know these people and who they are, and to hear of them pass away so quickly and for not the right reasons, to get this illness and die prematurely, [it's] not good," said James Sceviour in an interview Monday. 

"The town feels it and the town is nervous of the COVID itself."

An 83-year-old woman — described as a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother — died Sunday.

The other person who died was a 55-year-old man from the nearby community of Peterview who leaves behind a wife, children and grandchildren. His obituary indicates he was a dedicated member of the United Pentecostal Church in Bishop's Falls, where there was an outbreak of the virus. 

Sceviour said the loss of two community members has shaken the town of about 2,800. He said he was unsure how many people from Botwood have died of COVID-19 but believes to be four or five.