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Photo: The Canadian Press
A person wearing a Santa Claus suit holds the hand of a child during a Christmas show for children of Romanian military families, in Bucharest, Romania on Thursday 21 December 2017. Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited says it is suspending physical experiences with Santa in all 19 malls, including Toronto’s Eaton Center. THE CANADIAN PRESS / AP-Vadim Ghirda
Canadian kids looking forward to a visit with Santa at their local mall will have to settle for a very different experience this year.
Two of Canada’s largest shopping mall operators are opting for virtual visits from Santa and canceling in-person experiences with him amid rising COVID-19 cases in provinces, including Ontario.
Cadillac Fairview Corporation Ltd. said Friday it is suspending physical experiences with Santa at all 19 malls, including the Eaton Center and Fairview Mall in Toronto.
“While we know this may be disappointing for families looking forward to this annual tradition, we firmly believe this is the best decision,” said Craig Flannagan, Cadillac Fairview vice president of marketing, in a statement.
Cadillac Fairview had been offering in-person reservations for Santa’s visit until Thursday. He had planned to limit visits with Santa to nine people at a time for up to five minutes and to implement a policy of mandatory masks and sanitation among guests.
Cadillac Fairview will instead offer French and English Santa story sessions on Facebook for families and will allow people to book one-on-one video chats with the friendly North Pole man.
The switch, which will not result in any job losses, came after lengthy conversations with government officials and consumers, Flannagan said.
“Similar to what we have seen with other major events like weddings and birthday parties, we believe this temporary move to online is the responsible thing to do in a very different year,” he said.
At the Oxford Properties Group, located behind Yorkdale, Scarborough Town Center and Square One in the General Toronto area, Santa will use a magic mirror to connect with toddlers.
The mirror is a contactless photographic experience that allows people to walk past it in a shopping mall and then smile – behind their masks – to be photographed with Santa. A pet night is planned for those who want to bring their furry loved ones to meet him.
The experience will be set up to include physically distant waiting areas, hand sanitization stations, one-way traffic flow through entrances and exit points, and masked Santa’s helpers.
New approaches to Santa’s visits came as Ontario reported 1,396 new cases of COVID-19 and linked 17 new deaths in the province to the virus.
The total was a decrease from Thursday’s record daily high of 1,575, but cases continue to stay above the 1,000 mark.
This has been concerning for public health officials like Eileen de Villa, the Toronto health officer.
“What each of you can do is this: don’t become a chance. The best way to do this is to follow the steps for self-protection, especially now,” he said in a warning Thursday.
“If possible, avoid in-person contact with people you don’t live with. It won’t be forever, but it should be for the foreseeable future.”
Toronto is set to move into Ontario’s red zone of tiered restrictions that will limit the number of people some companies can allow into their location.
In recent days, public health officials have asked people to refrain from venturing out of the home for less than essential services and instructed malls to limit capacity, check visitors for symptoms, implement mandatory masking policies. and physical distance training.
Cadillac Fairview has already implemented physical clearance and traffic flow measures, required staff to wear personal protective equipment and increased the cleanliness of surfaces that are frequently touched.
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