Boxing Day shoppers hit the mall in North Bay

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in North Bay, plenty of hand sanitizer and physical distancing guidelines were in place at the Northgate Shopping Centre. Dec.26/21 (Jaime McKee/CTV News Northern Ontario)

NORTH BAY -

Doors opened at Northgate Shopping Centre in North Bay at 10 a.m. Sunday as masked shoppers hit the stores. 

"My kids wanted to do some shopping, they got some money for Christmas. There’s lots of good sales, they asked me to take them, and here we are," said a man shopping with his two children. 

"I don’t like paying for shipping on things, and I’m very impatient with ordering online so I came early so I can get things done," said another person checking out sales. 

With COVID-19 restrictions in place and malls only allowed to welcome 50 per cent of their usual capacity, retail workers told CTV News this Boxing Day was slower than usual. 

"It’s not as busy as I expected it to be, it’s usually a lot busier than this. During COVID, there’s usually a lot of lineups and stuff and I'm seeing no line ups at all," said Brady Gardiner, who works at Showcase. 

A staff member from The Body Shop also said she’s used to a more chaotic scene. 

"Usually, there’s people lined up outside of stores, but I just did an early morning stock shift so I was able to see the stores before everything opened and there was absolutely no one," they said.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in North Bay, plenty of hand sanitizer and physical distancing guidelines were in place. 

"I feel pretty safe. I’m wearing a double mask, have a boat load of hand sanitizer in my pocket and that kind of stuff, and washing my hands and everything like that," said one individual shopper. 

One man said it made him a bit nervous coming to the mall with hundreds of people in the same vicinity. 

"It’s definitely concerning, and we debated whether or not to come to the mall with the circumstances we’re underneath and the large amount of cases going on right now," he said. 

"We’re taking our time and being very careful and conscious of what we’re doing. Sanitizing constantly, making sure we’re wearing masks and keeping our distance."