Toronto shoppers rush to finish errands

Residents of one of Ontario’s COVID-19 hot spots rushed out into a snowstorm to tackle Christmas shopping, stock up on supplies or squeeze in lastminute haircuts on Sunday as they prepared to hunker down for a lockdown meant to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Their last-minute preparations came a day before Toronto and Peel Region were set to move into the grey classification of the province’s pandemic response framework, a move announced by Premier Doug Ford on Friday.

The shift to “lockdown” means all but essential retailers will be forced to limit their services or close their doors entirely due to case numbers that have stayed well over 1,000 a day for several weeks.

But those numbers didn’t scare off shoppers at Toronto’s Eaton Centre. “I guess we’re concerned, but we’ve got our masks. I just hope the numbers go down,” said Robert Onderdonk. “We missed the tradition. And we weren’t the only ones who had the idea to come.” He said he believes it’s the right call to tighten restrictions, even though it will be a struggle for businesses that make most of their money around Christmas.

Entering the grey classification of the colour-coded system means that for at least the next 28 days, personal care services will be suspended, restaurants can offer only pickup or delivery service and non-essential retailers will close for in-person shopping.

Ontario reported 1,534 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, along with 14 new deaths. The province also said 484 people are hospitalized. Sunday’s figures bring the total of COVID-19 cases in Ontario to 103,912, with 3,486 deaths.