• Provincial review

News Release: March 13, 2020

Peel Public Health recommends additional COVID-19 precautions to protect Peel

MISSISSAUGA, ON. (March 13, 2020) – The Region of Peel – Public Health today made new recommendations to protect Peel residents, workers and visitors from COVID-19. These measures complement the new provincial guidelines, announced earlier today, to suspend mass gatherings with more than 250 people and defer non-essential travel outside of Canada.

Additionally, Peel Public Health is recommending the following:

• Closure of all Childcare Centres, March Break Camps and Before and After School Programs, starting Monday March 16 until April 5, 2020 to coincide with school closures; and,
• That anyone who travels outside of Canada avoid work, school and other gatherings for 14 days after returning to Canada.

"While these are significant steps that may seem alarming, I want to stress that the risk in Peel remains low at this time," said Dr. Jessica Hopkins, Medical Officer of Health for the Region of Peel. "These measures are preemptive to help protect our population in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we understand that these recommendations create challenges for families and for the broader community, now is the time to pull together and take collective action to reduce the risk for all."

New recommendations, effective immediately:

• Closure of Childcare Centres, Before and After School Programs and March Break camps: Effective Monday March 16, Peel Public Health is recommending the closure of childcare centres, Before and After School Programs and March Break camps until April 5, 2020.
• Travel outside of Canada: Anyone who has travelled anywhere outside of Canada is advised to self-monitor (PDF) for symptoms (fever, cough, difficulty breathing) and avoid attending locations where it is difficult to distance yourself from others, such as schools, workplaces and mass gatherings for 14 days. Anyone who has travelled outside of Canada AND experiences symptoms should self-isolate (PDF) (i.e. avoid other people altogether) until they have been free of all symptoms for a  full 24 hours. At this time, this means that those who travel outside of Canada and wish to return to work or school on April 6 must return to Canada by March 23.

In addition to the above recommendations, everyone in the community can help protect themselves and others by following these steps:

• Stay home if you are ill.
• Practice social distancing: reduce physical contact with others to break the pathways COVID-19 uses to move between people, such as shaking hands and direct contact.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose as much as possible.
• Avoid contact with people who are ill and their items.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue. If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hands. Wash hands after coughing and sneezing.
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet, exercise and enough sleep, to enhance your body's immune system.
• Get a flu shot. You are more likely to contract influenza than COVID-19 and being sick lowers your immunity to other germs.

Stay updated on the novel coronavirus in Peel at peelregion.ca/coronavirus and by following us at @RegionofPeel.

Media Contacts

Lesley Hudson
Communications specialist
Region of Peel
Tel: 905-867-8072

Sangeeta Sundaresan
Communications specialist
Region of Peel
Tel: 437-225-4898