NORTH BAY -- North Bay Mayor Al McDonald has lashed out through social media Wednesday criticizing some of the city's citizens for travelling over the Easter weekend and people from southern Ontario coming up to the north to visit their cottages.

McDonald says people need to "look in the mirror" and heed the province's plea of staying where you are much as possible.

"We've been hearing about people travelling south and others inviting friends and family up here at Easter," McDonald said over Skype Wednesday.

While McDonald believes most people are following the proper protocol by staying home as much as they can, he says he's heard that some people are constantly travelling over 90 minutes to go to Costco in Sudbury to pick up groceries, instead of shopping in North Bay.

"If we really want to advocate this, we need our citizens to look in the mirror," said McDonald.

McDonald is not in favour of the suggestions of a full highway shutdown between northern and southern Ontario. 

Instead, he says the battle against the virus is up to each individual to get the message and stay in their own city unless it's critical to leave. 

At this time, the Ontario government is urging all Ontarians to avoid non-essential travel, but there are no restrictions or chargeable offences in place for those who do choose to travel.

Now that Easter is over and the Victoria Day holiday approaches, McDonald is pleading with the public to get the message.

"During the May long weekend, we always see an incredible influx of people from southern Ontario. And as you know, there's a lot of cases (of COVID-19) in southern Ontario," said McDonald. "We need people to stay home."