'Please don't do that': Waterloo Region residents urged not to travel to access Step 2 services

Waterloo -

Health officials with the Region of Waterloo are urging local residents not to travel outside of the region after the rest of the province moves to Step 2 of reopening.

Waterloo Region will remain in Step 1, with officials eyeing a move to Step 2 in mid-July.

That means places like personal care services in Waterloo Region won't reopen while the rest of the province moves to Step 2 on June 30.

At the Region of Waterloo's weekly COVID-19 briefing, officials said people visiting other areas to use their services that will be open is a concern.

“Please don’t. Please don’t do that,” said Lee Fairclough, the president of St. Mary's Hospital. “If you care about your family don't go see them in the neighbouring areas. We have Delta here and we want to make sure they don't go to those areas to the same extent."

Some residents in the region worry not everyone will listen.

“It's not the right thing to do but I do think that's a possibility,” said one resident.

“Can you blame them after a year and a half of quarantine that they want to get their haircut or they want to get a bite to eat?” said another resident.

The region is asking people to limit non-essential travel, limit contacts to one household and continue to follow health and safety guidelines.

“Throughout the pandemic, the Waterloo Regional Police Service has remained committed to the four Es of enforcement - Engage, Explain, Education and Enforce,” Const. Andre Johnson with Waterloo regional police, said in a statement to CTV News. “We will continue to work with our Regional partners to provide a coordinated and measured response to any pandemic-related issues requiring police response.”

Both police and the region did not mention what specific enforcement measures could look like.

“I don’t want to speculate. I wouldn’t want to speculate on specifics. There are so many different scenarios that could unfold again the key is let’s get vaccines in arms if you haven’t been vaccinated let’s get vaccinated,” said Bruce Lauckner, the region's chief executive.

Public health officials in Wellington-Dufferin Guelph called Waterloo region's case counts a cause for concern but admitted travel between communities is inevitable in some cases.

“People are going to move between different regions and that's just the reality of life,” said Dr. Matthew Tenenbaum, the Associate Medical Officer of Health with WDG Public Health.

Officials urge the public to support local businesses instead of travelling to other communities.

While it is up to residents to follow the rules, officials said they hope the temporary pause on Step 2 only lasts for a few weeks and will allow the region to reopen and stay open as soon as possible.