‘A cause for concern’: Out-of-town shoppers pose risk to Hamilton as COVID-19 cases climb

With the doors of Peel and Toronto retailers and malls locked up tight under lockdown, Christmas shoppers may have their eyes on Hamilton to check gifts off this year's lists.

And that's a cause for concern, said Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, chief medical officer of health for the city.

The moving between jurisdictions is concerning," said Richardson, in an interview Tuesday. We know there have been impacts from people going from one area to another, in terms of cases ... they are not just theoretical."

As of Tuesday, Hamilton had 337 active cases of COVID-19 in the city.

Richardson admitted that it's difficult to control" where people decide to go if their region is locked down, but Hamiltonians should continue to wear masks and ensure physical distancing when they're out and about.

If they feel worried about a situation and they have the option to avoid it, they should.

Don't stay if you find yourself in a situation where you think it's crowded," said Richardson. When possible, residents should also consider shopping at less busy times, she added.

If people are going to hit up the mall, make sure to shop with a purpose," said Liem Vu, general manager of CF Lime Ridge Mall.

If you don't have anything to do, please don't come to the mall," said Vu. If you do have a purpose, you know exactly where to go, go to the store ... so you can provide the spaces for other people to shop."

Even with COVID-19, Vu said the mall has been busy. On Tuesday, people could be seen lined up outside of Peoples Jewellers, while on Monday, the lineup outside Bath and Body Works stretched down the main hallway.

This past Saturday, Lime Ridge hit its maximum capacity at 3 p.m. and mall management put the building into a lockdown" as one of its safety measures.

That meant all doors were locked and a person was allowed in only when someone else had left, said Vu, and it lasted for about 30 minutes.

Richardson said a similar strategy regarding capacity limits is one way they've encouraged" malls to have.

She said bylaw enforcement was out at one of the city's malls over the weekend and they found things to be going well" in terms of physical distancing and masking compliance.

Another way to stretch out the crowds has been asking malls and retailers to extend their hours, said Richardson. Vu said they've given their retailers the option to extend their hours, but it's not mandatory.

The idea is that more people can come through, but over the course of more hours, said Richardson, in hopes that it could cut the crowds.

Any strategy where we can do that, is a good one," she said.

Online Black Friday encouraged

Leaders from the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) came out of their weekly meeting Monday urging stores to switch gears on holding large in-person sales" this coming Friday.

Such sales would inevitably produce crowd scenes which would only serve to undermine the fight against COVID-19 and negate the sacrifices being made by so many, including other businesses," the mayors and chairs said in a statement.

They also expressed concern that residents in lockdown will travel to communities like Halton and Hamilton to shop, while urging them to stay home, shop online and support local retailers through curbside pickup.

This coming weekend, Vu said shoppers can expect to see bylaw enforcement and mall ambassadors watching crowds, checking mask compliance and reinforcing distancing.

He is also hopeful out-of-towners will stay home.

I think the people from Peel and Toronto are more responsible and (will) not be making a trip to somewhere where they can endanger people," he said.

Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com