Ontarians asked to ‘hold-off’ heading to cottages amid COVID-19 pandemic

Premier Doug Ford is asking residents to “hold-off” heading to cottage country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The statement comes just two days after the premier said he didn’t think it would pose a massive risk when it comes to the spread of the virus as long as cottage-goers keep to themselves.

Health officials have previously discouraged residents from travelling to cottage country but on Monday, Ford said he couldn’t hold taxpayers back from going to their cottages.

However, Ford changed his tone after speaking with cottage country mayors on Wednesday afternoon.

“While Ontario is vast and regions are facing the challenges of COVID-19 differently, it is more important than ever that we stick together and fight COVID-19 as one team,” said Ford in a news release.

Ford says while local residents would normally welcome tourists with open arms at this time of the year, they are now asking visitors to help them stop the spread of COVID-19 and avoid coming to the region.

Ford said there will be many long weekends to come and the province needs to “focus on doing everything we can to protect the health and safety of all Ontarians.”

He urged residents to “stay vigilant” as we near cottage season and the Victoria Day long weekend.

“We are still battling a terrible virus, so we are asking seasonal residents travelling to their cottages to practice the same public health measures as usual, including no public gatherings, avoiding nonessential travel as much as possible, and continue to practice social distancing,” said Ford.

Haldimand Norfolk County has an order in place that bans people from going to their seasonal home. Those who disobey could be hit with a $5,000 fine.

The mayor of Norfolk County, Kristal Chopp says there are exclusions for isolation purposes and those who need to come do repairs on their properties.

“We have 8 ventilators and 5 ICU beds so there is not a lot of margin for error,” Chopp says.