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The mayors of Gatineau and Ottawa are asking for interprovincial solidarity — by staying at home.

In a release Tuesday, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin jointly called on residents to reduce interprovincial travel to essential trips.

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They warn that the COVID-19 situation “will not evolve the same way on both sides of the river” and everyone must follow public health officials’ advice “to the letter.”

“I ask everyone living in the Outaouais and our friends on the Ontario side to reduce travel between the two provinces to the strictest minimum,” Pedneaud-Jobin said. “These days, solidarity sometimes means staying home. This is not the time to go back and forth between your home and the cottage, to shop anywhere other than at local businesses, or to go to parks other than your neighbourhood park.

“Every time you go out, you make several stops, for instance to get gas, groceries, to mention but a few, which increases the risk of contagion.”