Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown is in self-isolation after returning from the Caribbean and is advising residents to stay home as the city, province and country battle the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am self-isolating out of an abundance of caution. I flew there and flew back. Peel Health doesn’t think that there is any risk,” said the mayor.

“I’m following the guidance and self-isolating.”

Brown said he and his family flew to a Caribbean country, but flew right back. He has been in isolation for three days and is showing no symptoms.

The City of Brampton implemented new measures Monday ahead of the province’s emergency declaration on Tuesday shutting down all bars and restaurants outside of take-out and delivery.

“Speaking with Toronto Public Health, we wanted to stay consistent. We’re co-ordinating with the City of Toronto being adjacent boundaries. We felt with St. Patrick’s Day coming up that it was too big of a risk that there would be big crowds at bars, pubs and restaurants,” said Brown.

“They can stay open, people can get take-out. They can pick up or order delivery, they just can’t eat inside,” he said, adding businesses not following the closure order could face significant fines.

At the moment, the closure order hasn’t been extended to all non-essential businesses.

“At this point, we haven’t got to there. Obviously, we’re keeping pharmacies and grocery stores open, so people have access to supplies,” Brown said.

While Brampton isn’t under any quarantine orders of any kind, the mayor and city are advising residents to stay home as much as possible and only go out when necessary.

“As much as possible, we’re asking everyone to stay in their homes,” said the mayor. “Right now, in the City of Brampton, we’ve shut down everything. On Friday, we decided to close all rec centres (and) city hall. Every worker that can work from home is working from home.”

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Graeme Frisque is a reporter for Mississauga News and Brampton Guardian. Reach him via email: gfrisque@metroland.com

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