Mobility data shows GTA border-hopping spiked ahead of provincewide lockdown

By Michael Ranger, News Staff

With COVID-19 rates surging following the holidays new cell phone mobility data is offering a possible glimpse as to why numbers are trending in the wrong direction.

According to the mobility data shared exclusively with the Toronto Star, in the week leading up to Boxing Day 101,500 residents from Toronto, Peel and York Region descended upon five shopping malls in Halton and Durham Regions for last minute Christmas shopping.

At the time, Halton and Durham remained in the province’s ‘Red-Control’ zone, while Toronto, Peel and York were in the ‘Grey-Lockdown’ zone.

The Ford government gave Ontarians a five-day warning ahead of the provincewide lockdown that went into effect on Boxing Day.

The data shows that the Pickering Town Centre and Toronto Premium Outlets got more last minute Christmas shoppers from the lockdown regions than their own local regions. More than 13,000 Torontonians flocked to Oshawa Centre for their last minute Christmas shopping. That number is up 155 per cent from the same time period one year ago.

Dr. Jody Lanard, a risk communications expert, tells the Toronto Star that warning people of a lockdown several days in advance is a “ghastly” way to communicate risk. She says the advance warning essentially gave people implicit permission to proceed with their normal holiday plans.

“The few days before the lockdown did the most damage of all the weeks leading up to Boxing Day,” Lanard tells the Toronto Star.

The province has started to see a shift in where new cases are coming from. In the weeks leading up to Christmas the lockdown regions, Toronto, Peel and York, were accounting for 70 to 80 per cent of the provincial cases. That number has creeped closer to 50 per cent in recent weeks meaning other regions are seeing an uptick.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is now warning of “turbulent waters” over the next several months ahead of new COVID-19 modelling data scheduled to be released on Tuesday.

In a brief video tweet on Sunday, Ford says the healthcare system is on the brink of being overwhelmed and he urged Ontarians to stick together as it will be late spring before mass vaccination is available.

The province reported a record 3,945 new infections on Sunday, along with 61 more deaths linked to the virus.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today