Burlington officials ask Mississauga residents to avoid the city's businesses

 

If you live in Toronto or Peel (Mississauga, Brampton or Caledon), Burlington officials want you to stay away from the city’s businesses in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

In a joint statement issued by the City of Burlington and local MPP Jane McKenna, officials called on residents in hotspot communities to voluntarily refrain from visiting businesses outside of their cities. 

"By working together to take proactive and strategic steps we can do our part to help slow the spread while protecting people's lives and livelihoods," McKenna said in a statement.

"None of us want to see additional restrictions, that's why we're asking people in identified hot spots to avoid non-essential travel outside their area."

The plea for people in hard-hit cities to stay away comes almost a week after the province rolled Toronto, Ottawa and Peel back to a modified Stage 2 in a bid to stop the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus. As of now, indoor dining rooms, gyms, theatres and other recreational and entertainment venues are prohibited from operating in those three regions, something that’s reportedly driving locals to visit Stage 3 regions. 

While cases are rising throughout the GTA, the province has not yet committed to rolling the York, Halton or Durham regions back to a modified Stage 2. 

In the statement, McKenna and the city said that when people travel outside of hot spots, it defeats the purpose of the restriction and minimizes everyone’s ability to contain the virus. The statement also says that unnecessary travel can lead to further restrictions down the line. 

"We support the additional and targeted steps that have been taken by the province to address sources of contagion in a more precise manner without unnecessarily impacting other activities and businesses," said Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of Burlington, in a statement.

"We are asking people to use common sense and good judgement, leverage digital and take-out options and hope to see our neighbouring communities benefit quickly from these measures, so they may continue to move forward in good health."