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Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Government of Canada Response COVID-19



Saha-TV Network, Wednesday April 15, 2020

Breaking New:
SWHO issues guidelines for lifting COVID-19 restrictions. Is Canada ready?
OTTAWA — Federal and provincial officials are starting to discuss how and when to start reopening schools and businesses but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Tuesday the full-scale lockdowns most Canadians are living with right now will remain in place for at least several more weeks. 
 Similar discussions are happening around the world, as many countries are starting to show some positive signs of slowing the spread of COVID-19 — even as experts warn limited testing in most places could be masking the real picture of the disease.
The World Health Organization is trying to inject some co-ordination into these decisions, releasing new guidelines Tuesday for what should be in place before easing restrictions.
"The way down is much slower than the way up," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said in a speech Monday. "That means control measures must be lifted slowly, and with control. It cannot happen all at once."
The WHO guidelines outline six areas officials must consider if they are to look at resuming activities. Here is where Canada stands on each of them.
1. Is transmission of the virus under control?
Short answer: We're not testing enough to know.
What the experts say: Eleanor Fish, a professor of immunology at the University of Toronto, said testing must become much more widespread before we really understand the state of community transmission.
Alison Thompson, a public health professor in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto, said it takes a significant amount of time between a confirmed infection and fully tracing a person's contacts and testing them, to know whether that confirmed infection has resulted in many more infections.
"We have to make sure it actually is levelling off, or that community transmission has actually ground to a halt, which can take quite awhile," she said.
If restrictions are removed too quickly, thousands of people with COVID-19, who may not know they are infected, could potentially spread it fast and wide, she said.
Thompson also said it's time to stop thinking of the pandemic in terms of health versus the economy. If there isn't a healthy workforce the economy will continue to suffer, she said.
"We may see some short-term gains if we did ease up on some of these restrictions," she said. "But in the long run if we end up with an out-of-control situation with COVID, the economy will take much, much longer to recover."
2. Is the health-care system equipped to detect, test, isolate and treat every case, and trace every person who came into contact with a positive case?
Short answer: Not yet.
What the experts say: Timothy Sly, professor emeritus at Ryerson University's school of occupational and public health, said Canada has done "an abysmal job" at testing and tracing.
"We have a situation now essentially where we're groping along in the dark in terms of finding out who in fact is virus positive and who's virus negative. We've done an abysmal job at that," said Sly, who specializes in epidemiology.
Sly pointed to an especially woeful rate in Ontario where Premier Doug Ford has vowed to perform 8,000 tests daily by Wednesday, up from about 5,000. Alberta is among Canada's testing leaders with about 7,400 tests conducted daily, which Sly said is still not enough.
Still, he acknowledged there have been hurdles beyond Canada's control that have handcuffed efforts — notably, global shortages of equipment including swabs and laboratory chemicals needed to process test samples.
Sly said Health Canada's recent approval of a rapid, mobile hand-held testing device from an Ottawa company should help, as will a series of expanded testing criteria that various provinces have adopted in recent days.
Jianhong Wu, a distinguished research professor at York University who has led multiple national projects on SARS, pandemic influenza and immunization evaluation, said there is a close relationship between contact tracing, testing and social distancing.
"If you don't do well in one component, you need to significantly magnify your effort in other components," he said.
Sly said provinces are largely trying to contact people exposed to a confirmed case by telephone, which is not sustainable given the soaring number of cases.
He pointed to countries such as South Korea, which have employed cellphone data to track possible contacts. He said that is much more effective, but it would raise privacy issues.
"People are going to be hollering and screaming about that but it does seem to work," he said.
3. Are outbreaks minimized in special settings like health facilities and nursing homes?
Short answer: No.
What the experts say: Risks remain dangerously high in hundreds of nursing homes across the country.
Quebec, where long-term care centres have been particularly hard hit, announced Tuesday that inspections have identified 41 seniors residences that require special monitoring because of a high number of COVID-19 cases. Premier Francois Legault on Tuesday appealed for people with experience in health care to help out in understaffed long-term care facilities.
Canada's chief public health officer, Theresa Tam, said Monday nearly half of the country's deaths from the novel coronavirus have come from long-term care facilities, and she predicted the number will increase despite provinces' efforts to fight the problem.
Twenty-nine residents in a 65-bed nursing home in Bobcaygeon, Ont., have died amid the pandemic. Another facility in Toronto recorded 22 deaths by Monday, while the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver, B.C., has had 18 residents die. In many facilities workers are also getting sick in high numbers.
After the Lynn Valley Care Centre outbreak, British Columbia moved to stop staff from working in multiple facilities as a way to slow the spread of the virus. Ontario made the same move Tuesday.
Isaac Bogoch, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Toronto and the University Health Network, feels that strategy, along with limiting visits with seniors and infection-prevention methods, could go a long way in minimizing risks for possible subsequent waves of COVID-19 among the elderly.
Canada now has guidelines for helping to protect long-term care residents and workers, but Tam indicated this week the outbreaks are the biggest concern that has arisen in Canada's COVID-19 situation over the last two weeks.
4.  Are there measures in workplaces and schools to prevent the spread of the virus?
Short answer: Not yet.
What the experts say about workplaces: In most provinces, only essential businesses like grocery stores and pharmacies can remain open. All others must operate with employees working from home. If they can't do that, they must close. Restaurants can generally only allow takeout or delivery.
Many businesses report being too focused on setting their employees up to work from home, and haven't yet begun to think about what to do to reopen.
Provinces and business groups say it's too early to speculate on which measures can be lifted. Any shift in approach would come at the advice of the chief medical health officer "and with extreme caution so as to avoid a resurgence of the virus as has been seen in other jurisdictions," said Hayley Chazan, a spokeswoman for Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says it wants clear advice from public health authorities before restrictions loosen.
"We fully expect that there will unfortunately be an instance where an employee does test positive. What does that mean for the workplace? Does there have to be a total shutdown? A deep clean?" asked Mark Agnew, the chamber's senior director of international policy.
Sector-specific rules will remain critical as the lockdown starts to lift, he said, noting that retailers, meat processors and refrigerator technicians might all require different protocols around physical distancing and personal protective equipment.
What the experts say about schools: Kids, while less susceptible to the novel coronavirus, are well equipped to transmit it.
"Children are generally less compliant with effective hand hygiene, and they don't necessarily control their secretions," said Dr. Nisha Thampi, infection prevention and control lead at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa. "That presents an exposure risk to the staff as well as to other children."
The Public Health Agency of Canada has stopped short of recommending specific changes schools could make to their operations, but did offer more general guidance for schools in February, before Canada began to really experience the impact of COVID-19. That included regular hand-washing and supervised use of hand sanitizer, education on proper "respiratory etiquette" such as covering coughs and sneezes, ramped-up cleaning and disinfection routines within school buildings, and reinforcement of "no sharing" policies.
Thampi said medical experts will also have to craft advice that strikes a balance between student safety and developmental needs.
"Children have always seen school as being a social environment," she said, adding many are no longer getting that kind of stimulation in the era of physical distancing. "How can we be sensitive to that while also teaching them about infection-prevention strategies?"
5. Are the risks of importing more cases from outside the country being managed?
Short answer: Mostly yes.
What the experts say: The federal government has adopted once-unthinkable measures over the past month to keep more cases of COVID-19 from arriving in Canada. Those include banning most non-Canadians from entering the country and a 14-day mandatory quarantine for anyone who does.
On Tuesday, Ottawa upped that game again, now requiring anyone arriving to explain their quarantine plan and if it's not good enough, they will be forced to stay in federal sites.
The trouble is that Canada is heavily reliant from both an economic and social perspective on foreign trade and immigration. That means it can't keep the border closed forever.
"We have done a lot, but economically it's not sustainable," said Daniel Beland, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.
Experts say there is a variety of potential avenues to reopen the border and manage the risk.
Being able to screen potential visitors, preferably with on-the-spot testing at airports and other ports of entry, would make it much easier to identify carriers and either bar them from coming into Canada or put them into quarantine.
Steven J. Hoffman, a York University professor and the scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Institute of Population and Public Health, said the 14-day quarantine "could be the enabler that allows government to reopen our borders, particularly if that system is really up and running and fully implemented. And enforced in a way that we can have confidence in it."
There could also be more targeted travel restrictions for visitors from different countries, depending on how those countries are managing the virus, though experts acknowledge partial bans and quarantine requirements could create challenges and anger.
Beland nonetheless believes Canadians will need to accept that there will be changes in the way they travel, similar to how the 9/11 terrorist attacks led to increased security measures.
6. Are local communities are educated, engaged and empowered to adjust to the "new norm"?
Short answer: Maybe
What the experts say: Canadians have been inundated with warnings from political leaders and public health experts for weeks now to be prepared for bad news. Trudeau has not been shy about making sure people know that until there is a vaccine, we are all going to have to get used to having at least some restrictions on our movements and behaviours.
In Canada, most experts think the number of cases is going to peak this month. The data based on the limited epidemiology Canada has shows the number of cases was doubling every three to four days in the last two weeks of March, but had slowed to doubling every five to eight days in the first two weeks of April.
But officials also warn of more than one wave, with flare-ups and new infections continuing for months. A vaccine is at least 12 to 18 months away, and the "new norm" really means longer-term adjustments to limit the impact of those new outbreaks.
There have been warnings from some experts around the world that things like live concerts and massive public gatherings for sporting events won't be safe for months to come.
Hoffman said he thinks Canadians must get ready for an up-and-down scenario, "where first the government lessens these restrictions and then a couple weeks later has to tighten them again in light of new data and new information about where spread is happening or how it's happening."
 This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2020.
With files from Mia Rabson and Lee Berthiaume in Ottawa, Kelly Geraldine Malone in Winnipeg, Cassandra Szklarski and Michelle McQuigge in Toronto, and Christopher Reynolds and Julian McKenzie in Montreal.
Latest Federal News

Bill C-14 - Historic Support Bill Passes Parliament!
 

Bill C-14 was passed on Saturday in an emergency sitting of Parliament – the largest support program to help Canadian businesses ever proposed and passed by a Canadian government:
  •  Bill C-14 amends the Income Tax Act to introduce the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). The subsidy will cover 75 per cent of an employee’s wages for employers of all sizes and across all sectors, including not-for-profits and charities.
  • We have adjusted the qualifying criteria, so that employers only need to demonstrate a drop in revenues of 15% in March (one month time period), and 30% in April or May. The subsidy would provide up to $847 per employee, per week, between March 15 and June 6.
  • To ensure employers can quickly rehire staff, we will also provide a 100-per-cent refund for certain employer-paid contributions to EI, the CPP, the Quebec Pension Plan, and the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan. This will ensure that workers can access a decent income, and position themselves to rebound once the outbreak has passed.
  • Our federal government has Canadians’ back, and is helping Canadians keep their jobs as we continue to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.

Support to Keep Temporary Foreign Workers and Canadians Safe
 

On Monday, our federal government announced $50 million to help farmers, fish harvesters, and all food production and processing employers bringing in experienced workers from abroad to cover all costs involved in ensuring workers complete the mandatory 14-day self-isolation:
  • All across Canada, many food producers rely on temporary foreign workers to be able to produce and sell quality foods at affordable prices.
  • These experienced workers are essential to our food supply system and Canada’s food security.
  • This applies especially to fresh fruits and vegetables, from planting season to harvest.
  • This is why the government granted an exemption from the border measures to temporary foreign workers, provided they follow the strict 14-day self-isolation rule.
  • The government also provided clear guidelines to employers on how to safely allow these 14-day isolations, and mandated they pay foreign workers for the two weeks they can’t work.
  • Employers must also provide food, transportation, accommodations, and basic supplies.
  • Recognizing the importance of this responsibility, our government is providing employers $1500 per employee to support this – conditional on employers not violating these rules.
  • All workers are screened before they are able to come to Canada and have to follow strict public health directives on the plane and after they land in Canada.

Federal Guidelines for Long-term Care Homes
 

Yesterday, the Minister of Seniors, the Honourable Deb Schulte, also announced that our federal government has worked with provinces and territories on guidelines for long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Long-term care is under provincial jurisdiction, but we have seen some truly tragic outbreaks in care homes across the country and the federal government is looking at all the ways it can help protect this very vulnerable group.

Highlights of the interim guidance include:
  • All visitors to long-term care homes should wear a mask.
  • If there are no cases of COVID in the home, mealtimes should be staggered to allow residents to keep 2-meters apart.
  • If there are suspected cases of COVID in the home, all residents should be served meals in their individual rooms while still providing enough supervision.
  • High-touch surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected much more often.
  • Volunteers should be limited to essential roles only, meaning necessary to basic personal care, medical care, or compassionate (e.g. end of life) care.
  • Homes, in consultation with local public health authorities, should consider resident and staff cohorting, and limit the number of staff working in multiple units as much as possible.

The Minister of Health, the Honourable Patty Hadju, said today that based on how tragically seniors in long-term care have been affected and how many gaps we are seeing in the system of care – going forward there is an opportunity for our governments to move towards a stronger system that better values and supports the workers who care for the people we love.
 

Health Canada Approves Spartan Bioscience’s Portable COVID-19 Test
 

There was great news yesterday regarding Ottawa-based company Spartan Bioscience:
  • Health Canada has approved the company’s portable, quick COVID-19 test.
  • The test can deliver positive results in around 30 minutes!
  • Our first priority will be to support remote communities which don’t have the labs or capacity to get quick test results.
  • Ontario has ordered more than 900,000 testing kits, Alberta has ordered 100,000 kits, and Quebec has ordered 200,000.
  • These tests will only be available for Canadian orders. Our priority must be to meet Canada’s needs first. The company says they will consider exports only and if all Canadian demand has been met first.
     

Latest Update from Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam

  • Over 450,000 Canadians have been tested to date, with around 6% confirmed positive.
  • Testing continues to be a core part of Canada’s strategy to flatten and ultimately crush the curve.
  • Our government continues to work with provinces to ensure they have everything they need to have high capacity for testing.
  • Ontario now has the capacity to do approximately 14,000 tests a day. Provincial leadership continues to ramp up the province’s actual daily tests, with a goal of 8,000 per day by tomorrow and 16,000 per day by the beginning of May.
  • Dr. Tam also said over the weekend that nearly half of Canada’s COVID-19 deaths have been in long-term care homes, reinforcing the need to keep these facilities secure.
  • Earlier today, Dr. Tam also had a message regarding children saying that “… silence and secrets do not protect children. Honesty and openness do.” Our kids understand that things aren’t normal, and we should be honest with them that this will be hard for a while longer, but that we will get through it. Not only will this help them understand; it will make it easier for them to sort out the truth online.
  • As always, if you believe you have COVID-19 symptoms, use the government’s self-assessment tool online or on the Canada COVID-19 Support App.
     

Daily Update from Prime Minister Trudeau
 

In this morning’s update, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared the following:
  • Over the weekend, we received new shipments of essential personal protective equipment (PPE), including four planes worth of N95 masks. Workers are now unpacking and validating them so we can start shipping them to the provinces and territories as quickly as possible.
  • These new N95 masks are in addition to the more than 820,000 that went to the provinces last week. All told, we have 1.1 million N95s ready to be shipped to the provinces and territories, with more to come.
  • We have also received millions of pairs of gloves, and we’ll be getting new protective gowns delivered from domestic suppliers starting next Monday.
  • We also continue to ramp up our domestic manufacturing of PPE.
  • Today the government announced $130 million to support the North:
    • $72.6 million transfer to the governments of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut to support their COVID-19 health and social services preparations;
    •  $17.3 million to territorial governments to support critical air carriers to ensure continued supply of food, medicine, and other essential goods to remote and fly-in communities;
    • $15 million in support to northern businesses;
    • $25 million to Nutrition North Canada to subsidize food and hygiene products.
  • While 6 million Canadians have applied for emergency benefits and 130,000 companies applied for CEBA, the PM mentioned that we know there are more who still need help, including people who do not currently qualify for CERB, students, and essential workers.
  • There will be more announcements on these groups this week, and on support for commercial rent (!) and on sector-specific supports.
  • Our government is also strengthening the Quarantine Act rule for travellers to self-isolate: if they don’t show a credible plan, they will be required to quarantine in a hotel.
  • Finally, the Prime Minister announced $20 million for the Canada Food Inspection Agency, so it can hire more food inspectors to strengthen our food security.

Update on the Canada Emergency Business Account
 

Last week, we gave details on another measure to support our businesses: the new Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA). We have more information to share today:
  • CEBA provides $25 billion to eligible financial institutions so they can provide interest-free loans to small businesses and not-for-profits. These loans – guaranteed and funded by the Government of Canada – will ensure that small businesses have access to the capital they need, so they can pay for rent and other important costs over the next couple of months.
  • Qualifying businesses can receive up to $40,000.
  • The program applies to Canadian employers – including not-for-profits – who had $50,000 to $1 million in total payroll in 2019.
  • Loans may be repaid over 2 years with no interest, with an option for another three years with interest. Repaying the balance of the loan on or before December 31, 2022 (not 2020 as we said in last week’s update), will result in loan forgiveness of 25% (up to $10,000).
  • Early estimates so far show that in the first 48 hours of CEBA’s implementation, around 130,000 businesses have received loans!

Amazing Resource List of Funding and Support for Artists
 

I know that artists in Davenport (and across Canada) have been especially hard hit by this virus. Many of you and your organizations don’t fit neatly into the various supports the federal government has announced so far.
I am working hard to advocate for more help for you. In the meantime, I would like to share a link to a page of resources and emergency funds for artists. So grateful to the CBC and all groups for assembling this list.
 

Davenport Questions and Answers
 

Q: What are you doing to protect vulnerable seniors in our long-term care facilities?

A: Long-term care homes and other medical facilities fall under provincial jurisdiction, but the federal government recognizes how vital it is to protect our seniors. We released guidelines over the weekend after consulting with the provinces and Territories.

Like you, I have been greatly disturbed and saddened by the news stories about outbreaks in these homes, and I believe every level of government needs to step up and do much more. We need to better value our care-workers and everyone who takes care of those we love.
 

Volunteer and Donation Services in Davenport—Help Out or Find Help
 

Food banks are experiencing a huge surge in demand during COVID-19, while at the same time seeing a drop in volunteers and donations. Not all of us can, but if you have extra time or wish to donate please help one of our Davenport food banks. They really need your help!

Community Food Banks in Davenport
These two local food banks do amazing work for Davenport:

Volunteer Groups in Davenport
These groups are connecting volunteers to Davenport residents who need all kinds of help.

Help For Disadvantaged and Vulnerable People in Davenport
  • Abrigo has let us know that they are delivering their services over the phone
  • Our Place (1183 Davenport Road Lower Level - Entrance on, Delaware) is providing hot takeaway meals 2-5PM, Tuesday-Friday

To help out our doctors, nurses, and hospitals, please donate blood!
  • Blood donations are always needed, especially in emergencies. Go to Blood.ca to learn more.

Stay up to date at all levels of government


Canada – Federal: Canada.ca/coronavirus
Ontario – Provincial: Ontario.ca/coronavirus
Toronto – City: Toronto.ca/coronavirus
 
Thank you  for doing all you can to flatten and crush the curve!

We are seeing positive signs that our efforts are working, so stay strong.

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