Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger said on Tuesday that the return to a lockdown scenario in the city is likely "inevitable" as cases continue to rise across the city, CP24 reports.
"They will collectively make a recommendation to the premier and cabinet and they'll make a decision," Eisenberger said in reference to healthcare authorities.
"Windsor-Essex is locked down now, York is also locked down," he continued. "If I were the premier and others, if I'm going to be consistent, you would think that a lockdown in Hamilton is inevitable."
Hamilton reported 134 new cases of coronavirus on Monday and another 99 on Tuesday. With an average weekly rate of 97.3 infections per 100,000 people, Hamilton has the highest rate of coronavirus in Ontario of cities that are not presently under lockdown. Hamilton is currently in the "red zone" of coronavirus containment, which is the highest restriction level before full lockdown.
As of Monday, there were 799 active cases of coronavirus in Hamilton and 119 deaths from the virus since the start of the pandemic.
In response to rising cases, Hamilton’s chief medical officer issued an order restricting gathering sizes at shopping centres and screen shoppers for coronavirus symptoms. Malls in Hamilton have also faced higher numbers of shoppers due to citizens of cities under lockdown such as Toronto driving in to do their shopping, especially as Canadians enter the holiday season.
One shopping centre in Hamilton, the Lime Ridge Mall, has had to extend their hours in order to accommodate the influx of Torontonians. "With the recent lockdown of Peel, Toronto, and now York Region, we are extending our mall operating hours to help spread out traffic and allow more time for visitors to shop safely," said the mall's general manager Liem Vu.
Eisenberger, however, criticized the move, telling people to "stay home, only go out for essential shopping. Unfortunately, right now, Christmas shopping isn't considered to be essential. And hopping from one region to another certainly adds to the congestions in other places that we are trying to discourage."
"We are going to ensure that the bylaw officers are out there making sure they are doing the right thing," Eisenberger continued.
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