Mississauga mayor says its ‘deeply disappointing’ Peel moving into Grey Zone
Posted March 5, 2021 7:53 pm.
Last Updated March 5, 2021 10:51 pm.
Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie says its “deeply disappointing” that Peel Region will be moving back into the Grey-Lockdown zone when stay-at-home orders end on Monday.
In a statement released on Friday, Crombie said she had been advocating for Mississauga to move into the Red-Control zone for the past two weeks and was optimistic that the downward trend in new COVID-19 cases woudl continue. However, that optimism changed earlier this week.
This week, Peel Region reported 73 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, an increase of one from the previous week. The region’s positivity rate also increased, to 8.9 per cent.
“Based on that data, I understand why Peel Region will open in the Grey Lockdown Zone this coming Monday,” she wrote.
My statement below on the Government of Ontario’s decision to move Peel Region into the Province’s Grey Lockdown Zone. pic.twitter.com/sW3rtPhxz2
— Bonnie Crombie ???????? (@BonnieCrombie) March 5, 2021
She called the upcoming move into the Grey zone “unfair” and “inequitable”, noting that neighbouring regions have been allowed to open more fully.
“It’s very disappointing, it’s deeply frustrating because if you were standing at the corner of Dundas Street and Winston Churchill, looking at the south side of the street (Oakville), you would see people actually shopping indoors and dining indoors yet the north side of the street (Mississauga) and our stores and restaurants remain shuttered,” she tells 680 NEWS.
Crombie says while a number of small businesses will be allowed to “reopen and recover”, she believes the current trend “in the wrong direction” is temporary and will ask the regions Medical Officer of Health to review their COVID situation “every week” in the hopes of moving into the Red zone.
“I think its deeply disappointing that we’re moving into the grey zone but at least our small retailers, our small businesses will be able to open up, reopen with limited capacity,” she said.
The region’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Lawrence Loh, says he will be watching closely over the next 14 days to see if the increase in cases this week is an anomaly.
