The pandemic has affected the Cities of Mississauga and Brampton, and the Town of Caledon, within the Regional Municipality of Peel.
As part of the larger closure decisions in Ontario, a stay-at-home order shuttered all nonessential businesses, and caused event cancellations.
[1] William Osler Health System asked Brampton City Council for municipal funding, at a December 13, 2019 meeting.
[2] Brampton had the lowest per capita hospital beds in Ontario, with 0.9 per 1000 residents, compared to the provincial average of 2.3.
[4] Following the release of this report,[5] and a presentation by a group of doctors,[3] Brampton City Council voted unanimously in favour of declaring a "health care emergency" in the city, citing chronic overcrowding of Brampton Civic Hospital, its only full hospital facility.
Mayor Brampton relayed that public health authorities hadn't told them to cancel the event, despite record numbers of new cases.
[72][73] Councillors Jeff Bowman, Pat Fortini, and Martin Medeiros encouraged residents to stay home.
[78] During the holiday period, Mississauga Fire & Emergency Services peaked at 40 pandemic-related staff absences.
[79] With a rise in Omicron variant cases, the Premier announced a variety of measures to limit the opportunity for spread.
[91] Region of Peel cancelled an annual garbage limit exemption, and suspended roadside pickup of bulky items.
[98] Despite the high vaccination rate, Dr. Loh warned that Omicron's transmissibility would lead to wide case numbers.
[104] Early in the month, Dr. Loh shared that the largest portion of those hospitalized were the unvaccinated, followed by those 50 and older without a booster shot.
[106] On February 5, "Freedom Convoy" protestors met at various points outside of Toronto, including Square One and a Tim Hortons on the Oakville/Mississauga border, en route to the Ontario Legislative Building.
Epidemiologist Colin Furness told The Brampton Guardian that the hospitalization of children had reached its highest rate.
[118] School boards were no longer required to report staff or student absences to the province, as of June 15.
[132] As of 31 May 2020[update], the following LTC homes in Peel have 10 or more confirmed COVID-19 related deaths:[133][134][135][136] The outbreak at Camilla Care Community in Mississauga was among Ontario's deadliest, receiving attention from The Washington Post.
[140] Notable outbreaks included: In early December 2020, Brampton's Hawthorn Woods Care Community confirmed 84 active cases among residents and staff.
[145] In late April, the dormitory-format Ontario Correctional Institute in Brampton was closed after 60 inmates and eight workers tested positive.
Inmates were moved to the Toronto South Detention Centre, to allow for a deep clean, and for staff to self-isolate for two weeks.
[150] On March 16, 2020, Peel municipalities began exempting retail deliveries from noise bylaws, allowing around-the-clock goods movement.
"[153] MiWay Mississauga and Brampton Transit were made free starting March 21, with most express services cancelled.
[167] On May 7, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 175 confirmed the death of a Maple Lodge Farms plant's staff members.
[168][169] After a staff member was diagnosed with COVID-19, Mississauga meat producer Sofina Foods ended its overnight shift to allow for cleaning processes.
Various congregations took to live streaming their services, from either the place of worship itself (as is the case with Mississauga's St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church) or remotely.
[175][178] Since then, two councillors have commented that Mayor Bonnie Crombie provided council with incorrect information on the subject, and that the matter should be revisited.
[179] Ram Subrahmanian, a member of the group Keep Religion Out Of Peel Region Schools, has received donations for an intended court challenge.
"[180] The decision allowed similar exemptions in communities including Windsor;[181] Toronto announced that it would do the same, if asked.