TORONTO -- Mayors from across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area are calling on the province to deliver “one clear public health message” when it comes to Halloween, even as Ontario’s top doctor hints that the advice could be different for residents in the “so-called hot zones” of Toronto, Peel and Ottawa.
In a news release issued on Tuesday afternoon, the mayors and regional chairs from the 11 largest municipal governments across the GTHA said that they want the province to provide clear advice about Halloween “by the end of this week” and will work with local medical officers of health to “forge such a common position for discussion with the province.”
However, in a subsequent briefing Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams seemed to suggest that the advice could be different in the three regions that have placed under a modified Stage 2 amid a steep increase in COVID-19 cases.
Williams told reporters that his “general recommendations” are that people “only trick or treat outside” and avoid “lingering” for long periods of time on stairs and porches.
He also said that everyone partaking in trick or treating should wear face coverings, whether it is the children going door-to-door, the adults accompanying them or the homeowners handing out candy.
Williams, however, said that the advice doesn’t apply to the harder-hit regions of Toronto, Ottawa and Peel and that more “specific” guidelines will likely be coming for those jurisdictions.
“People are asking in the hot zones what we recommend. We haven’t. We are discussing that today and I am hoping to have some recommendations from our political measures table because when these ones came out we didn’t have the hot zones. Now we have the hot zones,” he said. “I know that Halloween is coming soon so we hope to have an answer for you in the next day or so because you do want to do your planning and preparation accordingly.”
Last week, the Ford government prohibited indoor dining in bars and restaurants in Toronto, Peel and Ottawa and ordered the closure of gyms, movie theatres and casinos as it worked to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the hard-hit communities.
