In case the warmer weather has got you thinking it’s time to shift your social distancing to the cottage, experts have a message for you.

“COVID-19 is not cottage time. Stay home and resist the urge to go to the cottage or a rural setting. Don’t add further strain on communities with less capacity to manage COVID-19,” Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief medical officer tweeted last week.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has reiterated Tam’s words, after receiving calls from municipal leaders and full time residents in popular cottage towns who are worried about the rise in visits from off season cottage owners and people visiting for day trips.

Phil Harding, the mayor of Muskoka, also tweeted out last week asking people to stay home, no matter where they are. “If you are in the GTA — stay put. If you are in Muskoka — stay put. Most important for all residents, self isolate,” he tweeted.

While a quick trip to the cottage may seem harmless, the trip could increase your chances for infection, especially if you are stopping for gas, food or groceries. And if you are thinking of more than just a day trip, that’s not recommended either. Not only could longer stays elevate the spread of infection to others in rural communities, but the rise in outside visitors means that valuable resources to locals are also being drained.

Terry Rees, the executive director of the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Association (FOCA) told the The Weather Network that access to certain services is already limited for residents in rural communities, and that while services and businesses ramp up in the summertime for visitors, right now the quiet season is meant to accommodate the locals.

“We do realize that at certain times of the year, and this would be one of those times, the communities really are in sort of half speed mode,” he said. “Many of the facilities aren’t even open. There’s limited access to some of the roads. Emergency services might be limited.”

As if adding a strain to an already burdened system doesn’t change your mind about heading to cottage country, think simply about why we are all social distancing and what we are hoping to achieve.

“Really what the concern is all about is trying to limit the spread of the virus, and no matter where you are, the kind of precautions that you should take would apply anywhere,” Harry Hughes, the mayor of Oro Medonte,(between Orillia and Barrie) told The Weather Network. If we really want to do that as effectively, and as quickly to flatten to curve, abiding by social distancing, and staying put is the only way to do that.