OTTAWA -- Mayor Jim Watson says the City of Ottawa is not considering telling restaurants and bars to close or limit their capacity at this time.
Speaking on CTV Morning Live, Watson said he's meeting via teleconference with the Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), the Board of Trade, and other business groups to hear about some of the challenges they're facing because of social distancing measures.
"We've had people saying, 'Are you going to close all restaurants and bars?' At this point, no," the Mayor said. "These are part of the economic fabric of our city and, in many instances, they're providing meals to people who are not cooking."
In Quebec, Premier François Legault has asked restaurants to limit their capacity to 50 per cent, in order to create more space between customers. Watson said that's not a suggestion in Ottawa yet.
"We haven't looked at that," Watson said. "I talked to Dr. Etches about that. At this point, we're not contemplating that."
Dr. Etches is Ottawa's Medical Officer of Health. Earlier on CTV Morning Live, Etches said there is so far no evidence of community transmission in Ottawa, which is why social distancing measures are being recommended.
Watson said there are still ways to support local businesses from home.
"My sister suggested people go online and order gift certificate for their favourite restaurants, if that's possible. It brings cash into the business and they can go out and enjoy that meal in two or three months when we're hopefully through this," Watson said.
The ByWard Market BIA made a similar suggestion.
