The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit recognizes that religious holidays such as Easter and Passover, are an important time to celebrate faith, or be with family and friends. Please remember that social gatherings over 5 are prohibited by the Province, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

During this time, the Health Unit would like our residents to celebrate together while being physically apart. Protect yourself, your loved ones, and your community by staying home.

• If you belong to a congregation, check if they are offering a service online or on the radio/TV.
• Instead of seeing family or friends in-person, call or video chat.
• Go out for a walk with people you live with (as long as you are not under quarantine or self-isolation due to illness or exposure). If you choose to walk, find an unpopulated area, keep your distance from others (2m/6ft) and don’t forget to check for ticks and do not approach animals.
• Help others by donating to food banks or food drives, if you can. Choose the most nutritious and safest food for donation
• Spend more time with the family who live with you. Create new traditions together like playing games, decorating and cooking your favourite foods. Remember to apply the four steps to food safety: Clean, Separate, Cook & Chill

The Province is requiring stores to close on April 10 and 12 so that essential retail workers can have time off. You may need to plan ahead for essential items. Respect the health and safety of others while out; follow the rules of the store and don’t bring your reusable bags. Remember it’s not time to browse or socialize. Before heading out, think about if it is really essential to go to the store. Challenge yourself to be creative and use food items that you already have on hand. But if it is essential to go, choose a less busy time to shop and buy items with a longer shelf life.

For people who live elsewhere and have cottages or trailers in our communities, please stay home. This will avoid putting pressure on our grocery stores and decrease the risk of bringing COVID-19 into our community, and needing to use our limited health care resources.   

Being apart from family and friends can be very difficult for all of us. It's normal for situations like COVID-19 to affect your mental health. For information on coping please visit our COVID-19 webpage https://healthunit.org/coronavirus/ under “Information for the Public”.

We wish everyone a safe, healthy, and peaceful celebration.

If you are feeling ill with shortness of breath, fever or new cough, call 1-800-660-5853 x 2499 any day 8:30am to 4:30pm.

For information about COVID-19, you can also connect with LGLHealthUnit on Facebook and Twitter.

For media interviews, contact: Susan Healey, Communications Co-ordinator, 613-802-0550 or .