The mayors of Ottawa and Gatineau are urging residents to limit any travel between the two cities to “essential trips” only as officials fight to contain the transmission of the novel coronavirus in both provinces.
In a joint statement on Tuesday morning, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin said the spread of COVID-19 won’t “evolve the same way on both sides of the river” and underscored that residents “must be prepared” to follow recommendations from public health authorities “to the letter.” “Please stay home, but if you must cross the river to help out family or friends, be sure to take every necessary precaution,” Watson wrote in the statement.