The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada

Sahar-TV Network, Thursday April 16, 2020

Breaking News & Community response to COVID19, from City Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada
1:45 p.m.

The Vancouver Aquarium says it could be forced into bankruptcy and permanent closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aquarium has been closed since March 17 but faces monthly costs in excess of $1 million for animal care and habitat maintenance.

Ocean Wise Conservation Association, which operates the aquarium, says bankruptcy is likely by early summer if funding is not found.

The not-for-profit aquarium currently houses more than 70,000 animals.

It has laid off 60 per cent of its staff while it says the remainder are working reduced hours.

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1:25 p.m.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault says 143 more people have died of COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 630.

He says most of the deaths did not occur in the past 24 hours, but have been added the list following a change of data collecting methods by the public health department as well as post-mortem investigations.

There were also 997 new cases, for a total of 15,857.

Legault said 2,000 doctors responded to his call yesterday to come help in the province's overburdened long-term care homes.

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1:25 p.m.

The British Columbia government is offering cash-strapped communities relief measures that include tax payment delays, debt-borrowing initiatives and a 25 per cent commercial property tax cut, but not an outright financial bailout some cities have requested.

Finance Minister Carole James says most commercial property tax bills will be cut by a further 25 per cent with a second reduction in school property tax payments, which have already been chopped by 50 per cent.

James says in order to give businesses and landlords more time to pay commercial property taxes, the late payment date has been extended to October 1 from July.

She says to better address municipal cash flow and revenue shortfall issues, the province will allow local governments to borrow, interest-free, from their existing capital funds and carry debt into next year.

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12:58 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting five new cases of COVID-19 today for a total of 252 confirmed cases.

Chief medical health officer Doctor Janice Fitzgerald says the new cases are in the province's Eastern Health zone.

Fitzgerald says 170 cases are considered recovered or resolved.

She's urging people to "stay in their bubble" in order to stay safe.

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12:57 p.m.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada is talking with the United States about the agreement keeping the border closed to non-essential crossings.

Freeland says Canada's position is that the agreement should be extended.

She says regardless of what U.S. President Donald Trump says about wanting to re-open the border, decisions about opening Canada's side will be made by Canadians only.

Freeland says there are also discussions between premiers about interprovincial travel restrictions.

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12:52 p.m.

Prince Edward Island is reporting no new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, keeping the provincial total at 26 cases.

The province's chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, says there is a collective sigh of relief every time there are no new cases on the Island.

Twenty-three cases are considered recovered.

Morrison says all cases on P.E.I. have been travel-related with no cases of community transmission.

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12:35 p.m.

Dr. Theresa Tam, the chief public health officer of Canada, says models are now predicting between 1,200 and 1,620 deaths from COVID-19 by April 21.

Last week the projections expected between 500 and 700 deaths this week, and Canada today has confirmed 1,048 deaths.

Tam says the overall curve is "bending" when it comes to the number of new infections being confirmed in Canada but the death rate is higher than expected because such a high proportion of outbreaks are in long term care centres.

Tam says more than 90 per cent of the patients confirmed to have died from COVID-19 are over the age of 60, and half of them lived in long term care centres.

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12:25 p.m.

Public Procurement minister Anita Anand says 1.1 million more N95 respirator masks will arrive in Canada from China this week.

She says six flights from China have already arrived, and four more are coming this week.

Anand says already 17 million surgical masks and 800,000 N95 respirators have arrived.

Anand also said Irving Oil is the latest Canadian company that is shifting its business to help in the pandemic, adjusting some of its operations to produce hand sanitizer

12:15 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting 30 new cases of COVID-19 today for a total of 579 confirmed cases.

Health officials say that as of yesterday, there are seven licensed long-term care homes in Nova Scotia with cases of COVID-19, involving 42 residents and 23 staff.

While most cases in the province have been connected to travel or a known case, officials say there is now community spread.

To date, Nova Scotia has 18,453 negative test results and three deaths.

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11:35 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it would be "absolutely disastrous" to reopen the economy too early and allow another explosion of cases that would undo all efforts to date.

Trudeau says reopening is also not possible until Canada has a plan for responding to cases that arise in second or third waves.

He says that response would include "massive" levels of testing, and rapid response plans to trace contacts and isolate patients immediately.

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11:30 a.m.

The federal government is expanding a loan program for small businesses and introducing a new program to help small businesses pay their rent for the next three months.

The Canada Emergency Business Account was introduced previously to help businesses with payrolls between $50,000 and $1 million. Trudeau says more than 195,000 loans have been approved already, worth more than $7.5 billion.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the program will be opened to those with payrolls as low as $20,000 or as high as $1.5 million.

He says there will be more details coming on the rent assistance for small businesses but it has to be done with the provinces because they have jurisdiction over rental relationships.

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11:25 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Quebec formally requested federal help for its health care workers Wednesday night.

He says the two governments are working on a response, which could involve the Canadian Red Cross, military or volunteers.

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11:20 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke this morning to other G7 leaders to discuss the ongoing global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau says they are committed to working together to find a vaccine, develop new treatments and expand testing, as well as helping developing nations respond better to the crisis.

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10:40 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 514 new COVID-19 cases today, and 38 more deaths.

That brings the province to a total of 8,961 cases, including 423 deaths and nearly 4,200 cases that have been resolved.

The province completed 9,001 tests in the previous day, surpassing a target the health minister set last week after the premier expressed frustration that Ontario had been testing well below its capacity.

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10:30 a.m.

WestJet Airlines Ltd. says it will lay off 1,700 pilots as the company continues to struggle with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Air Line Pilots Union says 700 employees received layoff notices effective May 1, with 1,000 more kicking in on June 1, depending on seniority.

One week ago, the Calgary-based company announced it would bring back nearly 6,400 laid-off workers to its payroll using Ottawa's emergency wage subsidy program.

The earlier layoffs did not affect pilots, who had signed a memorandum of understanding to stay on board through April. WestJet says the 1,700 laid-off pilots will be placed on inactive status and be able to access the federal wage subsidy.

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9:10 a.m.

The 2020 RBC Canadian Open has been cancelled, a casualty of the PGA Tour's announced shortened schedule because of the novel coronavirus.

The four-day competition was scheduled to begin June 11 at St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

The Canadian Open was first contested in 1904 and is the third-oldest continuously running tournament on the PGA Tour behind the British Open and the U.S. Open.

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy won the title last year at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

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6:50 a.m.

The Toronto Transit Commission says 38 of its bus drivers refused work on Wednesday over safety concerns related to COVID-19.

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said five of the drivers initiated work refusals on Wednesday morning, followed by another 33 in the evening.

The Ministry of Labour said the report by the five workers did not meet the requirements of a work refusal, and the inspector is still ruling on the second round of claims.

Green said the Ministry of Labour cited the TTC's practices of rear-door boarding on busses, blocking of seats nearest to the driver and availability of hand sanitizer as examples of physical distancing measures in place to protect workers

The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 10:41 a.m. on April 16, 2020:
There are 28,893 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.
_ Quebec: 14,860 confirmed (including 487 deaths, 2,146 resolved)

_ Ontario: 8,961 confirmed (including 423 deaths, 4,194 resolved)

_ Alberta: 1,996 confirmed (including 48 deaths, 914 resolved)

_ British Columbia: 1,561 confirmed (including 75 deaths, 955 resolved)

_ Nova Scotia: 549 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 137 resolved)

_ Saskatchewan: 304 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 205 resolved)

_ Newfoundland and Labrador: 247 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 159 resolved)

_ Manitoba: 231 confirmed (including 5 deaths, 108 resolved), 15 presumptive

_ New Brunswick: 117 confirmed (including 77 resolved)

_ Prince Edward Island: 26 confirmed (including 23 resolved)

_ Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed

_ Yukon: 8 confirmed (including 6 resolved)

_ Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 2 resolved)

_ Nunavut: No confirmed cases

_ Total: 28,893 (15 presumptive, 28,878 confirmed including 1,048 deaths, 8,926 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2020.

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.

All My Best
Lalaka
The Founder/CEO at Sahar-TV Network

BRAKING NEWS CITY TORONTO, COMMUNITY UPDATE: COVID-19

Thursday April 16, 2020 Breaking News & Community response to COVID19, from City Toronto, #Ontario, #Canada Cause for cautious optimism in Canada's COVID-19 fight, top doctor says OTTAWA — While there's reason to believe the spread of COVID-19 is slowing, Canadian leaders warned Wednesday it was too soon to ease distancing measures, even as the country's central bank warned the downturn tied to the virus could be the worst on record. On the day Canada passed the grim milestone of 1,000 deaths, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam nonetheless said there is cause to be "cautiously optimistic" that the rate of growth is slowing. Tam noted the number of cases in the country is now doubling every 10 days or so, compared to every three days in late March. But she said Canada still hasn't reached the peak of the outbreak, and it's too soon to back off physical distancing measures. "Coming down from this epidemic curve will be like making our way down from a mountain in the darkness," Tam said during her daily briefing in Ottawa. "We mustn't rush or let go of our safety measures, or the fall will be hard and unforgiving." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned it would still be several more weeks before the country will be able to consider loosening restrictions that have caused businesses to shutter and put the economy in a tailspin. Widespread testing and the ability to rapidly track down the contacts of infected people will be key to an eventual return to normal activities, he said. "We have to be through this first wave sufficiently to be able to know we have the capacity to stamp out and restrict any future outbreaks as they come along," Trudeau said. "That means technology, that means better testing capacity, that means continued vigilance — not just by governments but by all Canadians.... We're still a number of weeks away from that." Trudeau announced New Brunswick company LuminUltra was increasing production of chemicals needed to provide the required weekly supply for COVID-19 tests in all provinces. The country has also received more shipments of the swabs needed for the tests, he said. Millions have lost their jobs as the pandemic has forced the closure of businesses, and consumer spending has plummeted as people have been urged to stay home to stop the spread of the virus. Economic activity dropped a record nine per cent in March alone, preliminary data released by Statistics Canada suggested. The estimate, which is to be refined over time, would be the sharpest decline in the nearly 60 years the agency has kept such data. Despite the bleak economic news, Trudeau was blunt as he warned that easing restrictions too soon could unleash a second wave of infections just as damaging as the first. "If we reopen too soon, everything we're doing might be for nothing," the prime minister said. Provinces including Manitoba, P.E.I., New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador each reported three or fewer new cases on Wednesday, but devastating outbreaks continued to sweep through long-term care centres in other jurisdictions, killing vulnerable seniors by the dozens. The death toll across the country surpassed the 1,000 mark with the announcement of 51 more fatalities in Ontario and 52 in Quebec. As of Wednesday afternoon, the country counted more than 28,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with over half of them in Quebec. Premier Francois Legault made a desperate plea for family doctors and medical specialists to help out in long-term care homes, where major outbreaks have exacerbated long-running staffing issues. Quebec has released a five-page list of seniors residences and care homes with at least one COVID-19 case, including 25 institutions where at least a quarter of residents are infected. Those include a long-term care home in Laval, north of Montreal, which counted 26 dead and 120 infected. Ontario, meanwhile, had 98 facilities reporting COVID-19 outbreaks that have together killed at least 145 residents, including 29 who died at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, and 27 at Eatonville Care Centre in Toronto. On the economic front, the Bank of Canada on Wednesday kept its key interest rate target on hold at 0.25 per cent, saying that it is effectively as low as it can go. It warned the downturn tied to COVID-19 will be the worst on record and the economic recovery will depend on the effectiveness of current measures to bring the pandemic under control. By Sunday night, some six million people had applied for a $2,000-a-month emergency benefit. To give a boost to struggling workers, Trudeau expanded the criteria of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit on Wednesday to include seasonal workers, those who are still working but earning less than $1,000 a month and those whose employment insurance has run out. He said he would also be working with the provinces to raise the salaries of essential workers who earn less than $2,500 a month, which includes many working in care homes. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2020. By Morgan Lowrie in Montreal. 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. All My Best Lalaka The Founder/CEO at Sahar-TV Network http://www.mamanzaytv.com/ Email: sahartv@live.com Contact: 647-856-6222

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: The Stop Oasis Dufferin Volunteer Groups in Davenport These groups are connecting volunteers to Davenport residents who need all kinds of help. Davenport Helps Regal Heights COVID-19 Help Group 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.