COVID-19 is something that we are all going to have to face together. Our primary concern is the health and safety of Ontarians.
We hope you are staying safe and healthy.
Thank you to all the province’s essential services workers and those on the front-line. You step up everyday to ensure individuals, families and seniors have what they need to stay safe and healthy.
Thank you to everyone else who is staying home and practicing physical distancing.
It is important to listen to the advice of Public Health experts:
- Wash hands frequently
- Avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth
- Avoid contact with people who are sick
- Practice social-distancing
- Stay home if you’re not feeling well
- If you are concerned or suspect you have the virus, call
Telehealth Ontario: 1-866-797-0000 or
Ottawa Public Health: 613-580-6744
We will be publishing our Newsletter on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays now.
Congratulations to the class of 2020 – high school graduates! Well done on reaching this important milestone.
New as of June 17
Ontario Extends Emergency Orders
This extension will be in effect until June 30, 2020 to ensure the government continues to have the necessary tools to safely and gradually reopen the province, while continuing to support frontline health care workers and protect vulnerable populations from COVID-19.
While current emergency orders will remain in place until the end of the month, the government will continue to review each one on an ongoing, case-by-case basis to determine when and if they can safely be adjusted or lifted, as part of the province’s framework to safely reopen the province.
Over the past week, the government announced 31 public health unit regions across the province may proceed to Stage 2 of its Framework for Reopening the Province. This will allow additional businesses and services to reopen and more people to return to work.
In addition, larger social gatherings of up to 10 people are now allowed in all parts of the province, and people are encouraged to create or join a social circle. Social circles are different from social gatherings. Social gatherings of people from outside your household are limited to 10 people. A social circle is voluntary, but if adopted should include all household members, and can include family and friends outside the household up to a maximum of 10 people in the social circle, who can interact and come into close contact with one another without physical distancing. To learn how to create a social circle, please see the step-by-step guide.
To help stop the spread, people should continue to follow public health guidelines, including practising physical distancing, wearing a face covering where physical distancing is a challenge and washing their hands thoroughly and frequently. Anyone who is worried they may have COVID-19, or who may have been exposed to the virus, is encouraged to go for testing.
A full list of emergency orders can be found on the e-Laws website under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act and at Ontario.ca/alert.
Ontario Marks Three Months Since Declaration of Emergency
“Three months ago, our government made the difficult, but necessary decision to enact a provincial Declaration of Emergency in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, closing down non-essential businesses and limiting organized public events and social gatherings. It marked the beginning of one of the darkest periods in our province’s history.
Our government, joined by thousands of frontline health care workers, volunteers, businesses, and the 14.5 million people who call this province home, rallied immediately to stop the spread of COVID-19. The collective call to action was inspiring, but as we all know, it has been a long and difficult road with losses far greater than anyone could have imagined.
I am proud and grateful for how everyone from every corner of the province has gone above and beyond in the face of this global crisis.
Since the first sign of the outbreak, we have been laser-focused on supporting our frontline workers and building the capacity that our health care system needed to respond to this threat. Thanks to the diligent work of our hospitals and their top-notch staff, Ontario now has a total of 21,425 acute care beds and 3,276 critical care beds, 2,583 of which are equipped with ventilators. During the peak of the outbreak, the system freed up between 5,000 and 6,000 acute care beds, and had preparedness plans in place to go up to 11,000 acute care beds if needed.
Within weeks, we built a network of over 30 laboratories to ramp up our testing capacity, starting at about 3,000 per day in March to reaching over 20,000 a day in recent weeks. Ontario now leads the country in testing capacity. Public health units have also increased their capacity to conduct rapid case and contact tracing, respond to outbreaks, and support local response efforts.
We have been tireless in our efforts to ensure frontline workers have the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to carry out their heroic work in hospitals, long-term care homes and other care settings. We mobilized the manufacturing might of Ontario to make the PPE we need here at home and to showcase “Ontario Made” as the gold standard worldwide for quality medical supplies and equipment. Through the Ontario Together portal, thousands of leads on emergency supplies have resulted in more than $610 million in purchases of critical equipment, including 10,040 ventilators, 123 million masks, four million face shields, 173 million surgical gloves, and 21 million gowns.
To fortify the iron ring of protection around our seniors, we have provided our long-term care homes with $243 million in emergency funding to hire staff, purchase supplies, and increase capacity. Thanks to our hospital partners, rapid response teams are working with 150 of our long-term care homes across the province to support infection protection and control and staffing needs. We are also incredibly grateful to our brave men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces who have been deployed to provide critical support in seven of our long-term care homes.
Above all, the people of this province have shown the true Ontario spirit with countless individuals volunteering in their communities and caring for those in need. Thanks to our partnership with Spark Ontario, over 4,300 volunteers have signed up to help people affected by COVID-19. Thousands of volunteers, including retired nurses and medical students, put up their hand to manage the phone lines at Telehealth Ontario and assist with case management and contact tracing. Through Ontario’s Health Workforce Matching Portal, over 24,400 volunteers have asked to be matched with organizations in need of help, including our long-term care homes.
As we work to find a treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, we must remain ready for any scenario. I will continue to press the federal government to provide the necessary long-term and sustained funding commitment that will ensure Ontario has the strong health care system and the strong economic recovery it deserves. Our province alone faces up to $23 billion in additional cost pressures related to health care, protecting our most vulnerable seniors, and supporting our municipal partners in delivering critical services. Ottawa must come to the table with serious commitments to funding support.
I want to thank each and every person in Ontario for their collective efforts during this unprecedented time. As we gradually reopen our economy, we will continue to support Ontario families and businesses, so they can get back on their feet quickly and get back to work safely. These are the challenges that define a province and its people. While tough times still lie ahead of us, if we stick together and keep looking out for each other, we will come back stronger than ever before.”
Ontario Releases Guide on How to Develop a Workplace Safety Plan
“Three months ago, our government made the difficult, but necessary decision to enact a provincial Declaration of Emergency in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, closing down non-essential businesses and limiting organized public events and social gatherings. It marked the beginning of one of the darkest periods in our province’s history.
Our government, joined by thousands of frontline health care workers, volunteers, businesses, and the 14.5 million people who call this province home, rallied immediately to stop the spread of COVID-19. The collective call to action was inspiring, but as we all know, it has been a long and difficult road with losses far greater than anyone could have imagined.
I am proud and grateful for how everyone from every corner of the province has gone above and beyond in the face of this global crisis.
Since the first sign of the outbreak, we have been laser-focused on supporting our frontline workers and building the capacity that our health care system needed to respond to this threat. Thanks to the diligent work of our hospitals and their top-notch staff, Ontario now has a total of 21,425 acute care beds and 3,276 critical care beds, 2,583 of which are equipped with ventilators. During the peak of the outbreak, the system freed up between 5,000 and 6,000 acute care beds, and had preparedness plans in place to go up to 11,000 acute care beds if needed.
Within weeks, we built a network of over 30 laboratories to ramp up our testing capacity, starting at about 3,000 per day in March to reaching over 20,000 a day in recent weeks. Ontario now leads the country in testing capacity. Public health units have also increased their capacity to conduct rapid case and contact tracing, respond to outbreaks, and support local response efforts.
We have been tireless in our efforts to ensure frontline workers have the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to carry out their heroic work in hospitals, long-term care homes and other care settings. We mobilized the manufacturing might of Ontario to make the PPE we need here at home and to showcase “Ontario Made” as the gold standard worldwide for quality medical supplies and equipment. Through the Ontario Together portal, thousands of leads on emergency supplies have resulted in more than $610 million in purchases of critical equipment, including 10,040 ventilators, 123 million masks, four million face shields, 173 million surgical gloves, and 21 million gowns.
To fortify the iron ring of protection around our seniors, we have provided our long-term care homes with $243 million in emergency funding to hire staff, purchase supplies, and increase capacity. Thanks to our hospital partners, rapid response teams are working with 150 of our long-term care homes across the province to support infection protection and control and staffing needs. We are also incredibly grateful to our brave men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces who have been deployed to provide critical support in seven of our long-term care homes.
Above all, the people of this province have shown the true Ontario spirit with countless individuals volunteering in their communities and caring for those in need. Thanks to our partnership with Spark Ontario, over 4,300 volunteers have signed up to help people affected by COVID-19. Thousands of volunteers, including retired nurses and medical students, put up their hand to manage the phone lines at Telehealth Ontario and assist with case management and contact tracing. Through Ontario’s Health Workforce Matching Portal, over 24,400 volunteers have asked to be matched with organizations in need of help, including our long-term care homes.
As we work to find a treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, we must remain ready for any scenario. I will continue to press the federal government to provide the necessary long-term and sustained funding commitment that will ensure Ontario has the strong health care system and the strong economic recovery it deserves. Our province alone faces up to $23 billion in additional cost pressures related to health care, protecting our most vulnerable seniors, and supporting our municipal partners in delivering critical services. Ottawa must come to the table with serious commitments to funding support.
I want to thank each and every person in Ontario for their collective efforts during this unprecedented time. As we gradually reopen our economy, we will continue to support Ontario families and businesses, so they can get back on their feet quickly and get back to work safely. These are the challenges that define a province and its people. While tough times still lie ahead of us, if we stick together and keep looking out for each other, we will come back stronger than ever before.”
Ontario Supports Ontario’s Beverage Alcohol Sector During COVID-19
The Ontario government is encouraging consumers to mark Ontario Craft Beer Week and Ontario Wine Week by supporting local beverage alcohol producers as the province takes additional steps to help the sector recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
The government is increasing choice and convenience for consumers by working to expand made-in-Ontario options at the LCBO. This includes increased marketing, converting available shelf space to profile Ontario products, and making more products available for sale, including bag-in-box wine and those made in the province. The supports are effective June 21 until October 2020.
This initiative is part of a number of ways the government is supporting Ontario’s beverage alcohol sector, including:
- Pausing increases to beer and wine taxes, previously scheduled to take effect in spring 2020;
- Temporarily allowing licensed restaurants and bars to sell alcohol with food takeout and delivery orders between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.;
- Temporarily allowing licensed restaurants and bars to sell spirits at a lower price with food takeout and delivery orders;
- Allowing restaurants and bars to temporarily create or extend outdoor patio spaces to safely accommodate patrons and staff once licensed establishments are permitted to reopen for business;
- Making it easier for cideries to sell directly to consumers by temporarily removing the requirement for cideries to have five acres of planted fruit to qualify for an on-site store;
- Extending the Ontario Wine and Grape Strategy to 2021-22, providing $7.5 million annually for VQA Support, $4.8 million annually for marketing and promotion, $250,000 for research and $250,000 for benchmarking; and
- Extending the Small Cidery and Small Distillery Support Program to 2021-22, providing $2.6 million annually to help eligible businesses grow and scale up their operations.
With most of the province in stage two of Ontario’s Framework to Reopen Our Province, many people can now enjoy Ontario-made beverage alcohol on patios of their local bars and restaurants.
Canada and Ontario Support Beef and Hog Farmers During COVID-19
The funding will help cover the increased costs of feeding market ready cattle and hogs due to COVID-19 related processing delays, while redirecting surplus pork products to help those in need. This program will help ensure the country’s food supply chain will remain strong and ready to recover as the economy gradually and safely reopens.
The beef cattle set-aside program will provide beef farmers with up to $5 million in support. Farmers can claim $2 per head of cattle per day to help pay for additional maintenance costs should they have to keep their market-ready animals on their farms for extended periods of time.
The hog sector support program will also provide hog farmers with up to $5 million to help cover additional maintenance costs. Ontario is also providing up to $1.5 million to process and package surplus pork for food banks, to provide those in need with fresh, locally produced pork products. This will assist the pork processing industry with managing capacity while helping those in need.
Both the beef cattle set-aside and hog sector support programs are being offered through AgriRecovery initiatives, under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The provincial contributions are part of Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19.
Prime Minister announces extension of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit
More Canadians are returning to work, but many people still face challenges due to COVID-19. As we begin to take steps to safely restart our economy, we will continue to support Canadians to protect their health and economic well-being.
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that the government is extending the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) by eight weeks, to ensure Canadians have the help they need as they transition back to work. This extension will make the benefit available to eligible workers for up to a total of 24 weeks.
The Government of Canada introduced the CERB to immediately help workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, so they could continue to put food on the table and pay their bills during this challenging time. As we begin to restart the economy and get people back on the job, Canadians receiving the benefit should be actively seekingwork opportunities or planning to return to work, provided they are able and it is reasonable to do so.
That is why the government will also make changes to the CERB attestation, which will encourage Canadians receiving the benefit to find employment and consult Job Bank, Canada’s national employment service that offers tools to help with job searches. Over the next few weeks, the government will monitor international best practices, the economy, and the progression of the virus and, if needed, make necessary changes to the program so more people can have the support they need. We will also look at ways to ensure all our supports, including the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Employment Insurance (EI), are working effectively to help Canadians get back on their feet.
The CERB is a taxable benefit of $2,000 over a four-week period for eligible workers who have stopped working or whose work hours have been reduced, due to COVID-19.
The CERB is available to workers who:
- live in Canada and are at least 15 years old
- have stopped working because of reasons related to COVID-19, or are eligible for EI regular or sickness benefits, or have exhausted their EI regular or fishing benefits between December 29, 2019 and October 3, 2020
- had employment and/or self-employment income of at least $5,000 in 2019, or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application
- have not earned more than $1,000 in employment and/or self-employment income per benefit period while collecting the CERB
- have not quit their job voluntarily
Today’s announcement builds on a number of measures, including the proposed extension of the CEWS announced on May 15. The CEWS is being extended to August 29, 2020, to protect jobs, allow businesses to keep employees on the payroll, and re-hire workers who were previously laid off.
While parts of our economy safely begin to restart, many Canadians are still experiencing the effects of COVID-19. Both the CERB and the CEWS were introduced as part of our plan to rapidly support Canadians through this crisis. The government is committed to continuing to support Canadians across all sectors until they can consistently and safely return to work.
Camping will resume gradually at a number of national parks and national historic sites across Canada starting on June 22, 2020
The health and safety of Canadians, visitors, and employees is the Government of Canada’s priority in opening national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas to visitors. Parks Canada is following the advice of public health experts to limit the spread of COVID-19 while offering Canadians access to the health and wellness benefits that come from being in natural spaces.
Today, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced that starting June 22, 2020, Parks Canada will begin to offer some camping services at select national parks and national historic sites across the country in alignment with the guidance of national, provincial, territorial, and local health authorities. Initially, camping will be available only to visitors with existing reservations. Parks Canada will gradually begin to accept new online reservations for some campgrounds over the coming weeks. Visitors should check the Parks Canada website regularly for updates and information on services available and reservation windows.
Given current limitations on international travel, existing reservations from international visitors, including visitors from the United States of America, will be cancelled and automatically refunded in full up to and including August 7, 2020. Parks Canada will monitor international travel restrictions and may adjust this date in the future. Canadians who plan to travel outside of their home province to camp at or visit a Parks Canada destination must follow the applicable provincial or territorial travel restrictions. Some provinces and territories allow only essential inbound travel at this time. Others require that outside visitors follow a self-isolation protocol. It is not possible to self-isolate at Parks Canada campgrounds.
The camping experience at Parks Canada will be different than in previous years. Visitors are required to have a reservation in order to camp at a Parks Canada place. Roofed accommodations such as yurts and oTENTiks will only become available at select locations later in the season. Visitors will have access to some trails, day use areas, green spaces, and some recreational boating.
Visitors are encouraged to visit the Parks Canada website, plan ahead and be well-prepared for their visit.
The Parks Canada website provides detailed information on what locations are open, what visitors can expect, how to prepare for a visit and what services may be available. It also provides advice on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while at Parks Canada places, including guidance on physical distancing, hygiene and other safety measures.
Special statement from Dr. Brent Moloughney
Ottawa Board of Health recognizes racism as a public health issue
Racism, discrimination and stigma are associated with poor physical, mental and emotional health and higher mortality rates. Anti-black racism, anti-indigenous racism and racism against any minority is an important public health issue. I am pleased to share that this week, the Ottawa Board of Health unanimously approved a motion that recognizes racism as a public health issue and will direct Ottawa Public Health’s (OPH) work in addressing racism in public health. This motion included directives to:
- Provide training on anti-black racism and other racism to employees, volunteers and learners to contribute to improve health outcomes.
- Develop an evidence-based campaign to increase awareness on the impacts of racism and discrimination.
- Establish a process in collaboration with First Nations, Inuit and Metis partners to ensure respectful planning, collection, analysis and sharing of health data to inform improvements to physical and mental health of indigenous populations in Ottawa.
- Inform community consultations on addressing systemic racism in Ottawa.
OPH is committed to engage and work with residents, partners and communities to develop the conditions to support health and health equity for everyone in Ottawa. In addition to partnerships to help us move in a direction that will lead to meaningful change, we will engage with Councilor Rawlson King, the council Liaison for Anti-Racism and Ethnocultural Relations Initiatives for the City of Ottawa.
COVID-19 Weekly supplemental report
As you are aware, last week OPH introduced its new COVID-19 dashboard. Additionally, supplemental COVID-19 epidemiology reports are made available on our website. These include the most current information available from the dynamic disease reporting system as of 2 p.m. the day before posting.
Some weeks, there will be a Special Focus included in a Weekly Supplement that will provide a brief analysis of a topic of interest. Today’ssupplemental report provides more information about the occupations of individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. Information on the occupations of those infected with COVID-19 can improve our understanding of who may be at higher risk and how the disease is spreading. While this report does not suggest exposure sites, this is information that is collected during the case management process. Among occupational groups, healthcare workers have had the greatest number of infections to-date. It’s important to note that the testing of healthcare workers and essential workers has been prioritized compared to the rest of the population. As we continue to ease restrictions, everyone is encouraged to be vigilant, regardless of their occupation. OPH will continue to monitor trends as more settings re-open.
Stage 2 reopening
As many businesses continue to reopen and we increase our activities, OPH will continue to monitor the level of infection in the community. It will take a period of weeks before we can assess the impact of reopening. Looking at the latest data, the trends are positive across all the recovery indicators of our COVID-19 dashboard, though we are still finding cases that have no known source of infection. This means that these cases are not linked to travel, an outbreak or another known case. Since we are reopening while COVID-19 is present in our community, more widespread transmission risks a resurgence of the virus, which could again threaten the health of vulnerable individuals and surpass our hospitals’ capacity. We each need to continue to do our part to prevent transmission of the virus.
With reopening, we are faced with more choices of what we might do. However, not all activities have the same risk for transmission. In general, being outside is better than inside, the fewer our contacts the lower the risk, and physical distancing continues to be of primary importance. Being COVIDwise will help prevent transmission for yourself, your family and others. This includes: wear a cloth mask when you cannot maintain physical distance with others, isolate yourself and get tested when you are sick, and wash your hands regularly. Whether as a participant in an activity, or a close contact of another who is participating, particular caution is needed for vulnerable individuals at increased risk of serious outcomes if they become infected. See our COVIDwise webpage for more information on risk categories of different types of activities, as well as how to be COVIDwise.
The discretionary (non-essential) travel restrictions between Canada and US have been extended to July 21st , 2020.
The Government of Ontario recently announced changes to the electricity price that Regulated Price Plan (RPP) customers on Time-Of-Use (TOU) pricing pay. Effective June 1 through to October 31, 2020, residential and small business customers on TOU pay a fixed price of 12.8 ¢/kWh for electricity consumed all hours of the day and every day of the week.
