Mayor Brian Bigger issued a statement today, urging Sudburians to have a pandemic-safe Christmas by following public health guidelines on gatherings and travel.
Public health officials and politicians have said Ontario residents should be keeping Christmas to within their own households, to visit family virtually and to avoid travelling outside their home regions this year.
With the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic surging, particularly in southern Ontario, officials are worried Christmas events will see people opting to let their guard down.
In his message, Bigger urged “safe choices.”
The full text of the mayor’s message is below.
Since spring, just about every message coming from my office or most elected leaders has included a theme of safety.
Safe choices, the safety of others and how each of us needs to play a part. As we now head into the first weekend of December, with the holidays kicking in to full swing, the message remains the same.
This festive season will be vastly different from years past, and our experts in public health are asking us all to make a tremendous sacrifice this year. We need to keep all interactions within your own household where possible.
Because of COVID-19, the Safe Ride Home Sudbury program will not be operating this holiday season.
Though we're asking people to limit and ideally postpone any visiting - if you do find yourself out and impaired in any way, please arrange for a safe ride home with someone from your household, call a cab, or call a friend.
Police will be out every day and night with the RIDE Program to keep our streets safe.
It's a tall and tough order - but one we all need to fulfill. We have seen what has happened in communities to our south.
COVID cases are on the rise, businesses have been forced to close and hospitals are overwhelmed. We need to be strong, smart and not slip back to where we were locked down in the spring. We've demonstrated that we know what it takes to minimize the spread of this virus - let's keep it up.
Lastly, we have a long winter in front of us and the holiday season is already here. Driving around and when I'm out for a walk I'm seeing lights hung like no other year. We're showing our spirit and doing our best to put a sense of positivity on display.
Let's keep that up, make the best of what will be an uncharacteristic Christmas and look forward to a 2021 where we will all begin to see a recovery from COVID 19 and an eventual return to normal.
Have a great weekend.
Brain Bigger
Mayor
