Officials in Hamilton and GTA ask province for guidance on Halloween

Officials in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area are asking for guidance from the province on how to handle Halloween.

The mayors and chairs of the 11 largest municipal governments in the region say there needs to be a clear public health message on Halloween by the end of the week.

“We will work with the province to ensure a safe and consistent approach and not a patchwork of approaches municipality by municipality,” said Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger.

“Together, we must take the necessary the steps to prevent further spread of COVID-19. This involves hard choices and puts limits on many things we enjoy, but the more we can do our part to slow the spread, the better we can protect our families, loved ones and our community.”

Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, said on Tuesday that specific guidelines would be issued soon for the hardest-hit regions.