Office of the Mayor and Council Update
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Tuesday June 9 COVID-19 emergency
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Yesterday's announcement from the Provincial government excluding Halton from Stage 2 reopening starting this Friday was a disappointing one. Immediately following the announcement, Regional Chair Gary Carr and Halton's Mayors wrote to Premier Ford, expressing our desire for his government to reconsider allowing Halton Region to transition to phase 2 of the reopening.
Halton, and Oakville, have a strong adherence to physical distancing and public health measures and we have been able to maintain low case numbers with no known institutional outbreaks. Our case numbers make up a small fraction of the total provincial cases and our hospitals are sustaining adequate capacity and at least 90 per cent of new COVID-19 contacts are being reached by Halton public health officials within one day.
These are all measures that the Province has indicated are requirements to move into phase 2 and given the high number of cases in other municipalities across the GTA and Greater Golden Horseshoe, we understand why they are not moving forward in this phased approach. Halton, however, does not have these same issues.
Read the full letter by clicking the image and
read the story
from Inside Halton below.
We've come so far and our residents have worked so hard. For a reminder of how far we've come, please see the updated timeline at the end of this email.
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Items in this update:
- COVID case counts
- COVID-19 deaths per million
- COVID-19 infects more than 50 health care workers a day in Ontario
- Care-homes crisis pushes Toronto-area hospitals to near capacity
- Police officers need to be trained on de-escalation, screened for beliefs: Senator Murray Sinclair
- Town of Oakville announcements
- Call for art
- Halton was to be included in Ontario's Stage 2 reopening list
- Oakville woman, 72, nearly dies from COVID-19 and remains in hospital
- Provincial Government announcements
- Province reopening child care with strict protocols
- Doug Ford says he relies on COVID-19 experts, but his government won't identify them
- Federal Government announcements
- Feds created hub for resources on buying and supplying PPE
- Canada launches second call for proposals under Local Food Infrastructure Fund
- CERB fraudsters could face fines or jail time, draft bill shows
- Canadians fear second wave of COVID-19 poll suggests
- Pandemic measures expose work-from-home inequality: Stats Can
- Burundi president dead following reports of COVID treatment
- In China, youngest kids to return to school last
- Philippines say no school without vaccine
- Satellite images of Wuhan suggest coronavirus spreading last August
- In other COVID-related news
- New moms told to go to work to get EI
- Patio season is coming, but it will be different
- Is it safe to swim in a pool during the pandemic?
- Researchers hops gene-editing technology can yield rapid at-home test
- Increased surgery demand causing concern for Canadian Blood Services
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Total confirmed cases in Halton increased by 4 from 673 to
677
(with 2 pending confirmed cases) with 1 new confirmed case in Oakville, from 224 to
225.
There were 2 reported recoveries in Oakville, from 217 to
219
and
6
recoveries in Halton Region from 629 to
635
.
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Ontario is reporting 230 new cases of COVID-19 today for a total of 31,090.
Canada has 96,244 confirmed cases as of today.
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COVID-19 deaths per million
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COVID-19 infects more than 50 Ontario health-care workers a day
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Authorities are concerned with the high numbers of health-care workers still becoming infected with COVID-19 while the growth of new cases slows in the general population.
An average of 53 health staff have become infected with COVID-19 every day this month as Premier Doug Ford moves to a second stage of reopening the economy Friday outside the GTA, Hamilton and parts of southern Ontario bordering Michigan and New York.
Ministry of Health statistics released Monday show another 369 employees in medical settings — such as hospitals, nursing homes and home care — tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the last week.
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Care-homes crisis pushes Toronto-area hospitals to near capacity
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At least five hospitals in the GTA can’t resume elective surgery because they’re nearly as full today as they were before the pandemic – primarily because of seniors who can’t be transferred to unsafe nursing homes and patients who put off essential care for fear of COVID-19.
Read the full story by clicking the image
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Police officers need to be trained on de-escalation, screened for beliefs: Senator Murray Sinclair
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Police officers must be better trained on de-escalation tactics and screened for racist attitudes, says Senator Murray Sinclair, who was Manitoba’s first Indigenous judge.
Halton’s officers are trained as such.
Read the full story by clicking the link
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Town of Oakville announcements
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Call for art
“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.” Toni Morrison
WHAT DOES ANTI-BLACK RACISM AND SOCIAL INJUSTICE MEAN TO YOU?
We invite you to take a moment to make a meaningful artwork, write a thoughtful poem, find an inspirational song, or send anything you feel like sharing with us.
Those interested in cultural updates, activities, and engagement are encouraged to visit:
- Museum Mondays on Oakville Museum’s Facebook
- Social Tuesday, Senior’s Wednesday, Art Thursday and Fitness Fridays on the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre (QEPCCC) Facebook page
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Halton wants to be included on Doug Ford government’s Stage 2 reopening list for Ontario
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Halton’s political leaders are urging the Province to reconsider its decision that shut the region out of the next stage of reopening businesses and services during the pandemic.
Premier Doug Ford announced June 8 that restrictions across the province are being eased in certain communities based on lower rates of COVID-19 transmission, increased capacity in hospitals and progress made in testing. However, Halton was not on the list of approved regions.
In a swift response sent to Ford today (June 9), the four Halton mayors and Regional Chair Gary Carr highlight the low number of COVID-19 cases locally and Halton’s “strong adherence to social distancing and public health measures” as reasons to allow more businesses to open in the community.
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Oakville woman, 72, nearly dies from COVID-19 and remains in hospital
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A 72-year-old Oakville woman is preparing to head home from hospital following a battle with COVID-19 that went on for weeks and nearly claimed her life.
Farhat Parvaiz, a mother of three and grandmother of seven, is currently undergoing rehabilitation at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) and expects to be discharged later in June.
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Provincial Government Announcements
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Province reopening child care with strict protocols
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Today, the Ontario government announced its plan to reopen child care centres across the province to support the next stage of the province's reopening framework.
Developed in consultation with Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health and medical leaders at The Hospital for Sick Children, the plan will require child care operators to follow strict health protocols to ensure the safety of child care staff and children.
As the province continues to implement its Framework for Reopening the Province, child care centres and home care providers across Ontario will be able to reopen with strict safety and operational requirements in place, similar to the safety guidelines required for emergency child care centres. Centres will be required to adopt specific rules, including:
- Cohorting ― putting children and staff in groups of 10 or less day over day;
- COVID-19 response plan ― all child care settings will be required to have a plan in place if a child, parent or staff member/provider is exposed to COVID-19;
- Screening ― all staff and children must be screened prior to entry to the child care setting. Anyone feeling unwell must stay home;
- Daily attendance records ― child care settings must keep daily records of all attendees in order to support contact tracing;
- Cleaning ― child care settings must be thoroughly cleaned before opening and frequently thereafter;
- No visitors ― only essential visitors are permitted entry into the child care setting;
- Implementing drop-off and pick-up protocols in a way that facilitates physical distancing.
Effectively immediately, staff can re-enter child care facilities and begin preparation for reopening. When these operators have met all the strict and stringent guidelines for reopening, they will be permitted to reopen.
The Ministry of Education has been working with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to develop these health and safety protocols. They will enable the safe reopening of child care centres across the province and enhance safety through effective contact tracing. This plan imposes strict requirements on operators, including mandatory training and reporting and support from the local medical officer of health before reopening.
Based on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and with strict health and safety protocols in place, the government is now enabling summer day camp programs across the province to reopen this summer.
Strict health and safety guidelines
were developed by the Ministry of Health in partnership with public health, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, and municipalities, and distributed to local public health teams earlier this month. At this time, overnight camps are not permitted to operate in the summer of 2020.
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Doug Ford says he relies on COVID-19 experts, but his government won't identify them
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Ontario's Premier has pledged to be transparent about the scientific advice he's getting on COVID-19. But his government refuses to disclose who is providing the expertise, or share exactly what they are saying.
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Federal Government announcements
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Government of Canada creates a hub for organizations looking to find resources on buying and supplying personal protective equipment
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Today, the Government of Canada launched a new
web hub
to bring together available resources for organizations buying and selling personal protective equipment (PPE). As organizations re-open for business, they need reliable information on how to buy and sell the necessary supplies required to keep themselves and others safe.
The Supply Hub connects Canadian organizations from coast to coast to coast with federal, provincial, territorial and other resources and information about PPE, including consumer guidance. Buyers will find PPE supplier lists, in addition to guidance to help plan their PPE purchases. As Public Services and Procurement Canada continues to engage with our partners and advisory groups, the hub will evolve to include additional resources.
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Government of Canada launches second call for proposals under the Local Food Infrastructure Fund
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Today while hosting a videoconference with media, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced the launch of the second call for proposals under the Local Food Infrastructure Fund. This second call for proposals, valued at $43.4 million, will begin accepting applications today. The Fund aims to strengthen food support organizations and to help improve access to safe and nutritious food for Canadians at risk.
This second call for proposals under the program will support small and large community-led projects at facilities such as urban gardens, community kitchens, food banks, and greenhouses. Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis until funding has been allocated. Projects valued at up to $250,000 will be accepted. This second call for proposals could also support a cluster of organizations who are ready to enhance their regional food systems.
The Local Food Infrastructure Fund, a $50 million, five-year program under the Food Policy for Canada, is aimed at community-based, not-for-profit organizations. The program’s goal is to reduce food insecurity by establishing and/or strengthening local food networks in the medium to longer term. Under the first call for proposals of the program, 362 projects received funding of up to $25,000 for a total $6.6 million. This funding supported projects such as the purchase of new refrigerated trucks, kitchen equipment, community gardens, equipment needed to prepare, store and distribute food, and the installation of solar panels and irrigation systems, among others.
In April, the Government also launched a separate, $100-million emergency fund under the program to support national, regional, and local organizations across Canada that are able to reach people and communities experiencing food insecurity and who have been impacted by COVID-19. To date, this emergency funding has supported 1,765 individual projects in communities across Canada that are providing healthy food to Canadians in need.
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CERB fraudsters could face fines or jail time, draft bill shows
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The federal government is looking to put into law new punishments, including jail time and fines, for Canadians who are found to be defrauding the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program, according to a copy of a draft piece of legislation that has not been tabled in the House of Commons.
According to the draft bill obtained by CTV News, the government wants to impose tough new enforcement mechanisms ranging from fines to six months of jail time if someone has made a “false or misleading” benefit claim, knowingly failed to declare income for the period which they applied for the benefit, received a benefit cheque they were “knowingly” not eligible for, or aided someone in committing one of the aforementioned offences. The proposed legislative changes were first reported on by The Globe and Mail.
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Canadians fear 2nd wave of COVID-19, increasingly wearing face masks: poll
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Canadians are increasingly wearing protective face masks as they emerge from months of isolating at home to curb the spread of
COVID-19
, a new poll suggests.
And it suggests that fear of a second wave of infections as bad as or worse than the first wave may behind their increased caution.
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Pandemic measures expose work-from-home inequality, says Statistics Canada
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Women, along with people with higher earnings and those with more education, are more likely to be able to work from home and therefore less likely to suffer a loss of employment income due to measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, according to a new report.
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Burundi president dies suddenly following reports he was being treated for COVID-19
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In China schools open to youngest children last, citing lack of discipline for social distancing
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No students in school without coronavirus vaccine, Philippines says
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Tens of millions of children in the Philippines will not be allowed back to school until a coronavirus vaccine is available, officials announced Monday, saying they may have to broadcast lessons on TV.
Nations like France and South Korea began resuming face-to-face classes as they got their outbreaks under control, but Philippine authorities see the risk as too great.
President Rodrigo Duterte said last month that even if students could not graduate, they needed to stay out of school to fight the spread of the disease.
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Satellite images of Wuhan may suggest coronavirus was spreading as early as August
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Satellite images of hospital parking lots in Wuhan as well as internet search trends, show the coronavirus may have been spreading in China as early as last August, according to a new study from Harvard Medical School.
The study, which has not yet been peer-viewed, found a significantly higher number of cars in parking lots at five Wuhan hospitals in the late summer and fall of 2019 compared to a year earlier; and an uptick in searches of keywords associated with an infectious disease on China's Baidu search engine.
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In other COVID-related news:
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New moms told go work to get EI parental benefits after jobs lost to COVID-19
Around the country, new mothers, and those still expecting, are losing out on federal parental benefits through no fault of their own.
Don’t use the bathroom. Don’t share condiments. Patio season is finally coming — but it’ll be different
Outdoor dining is safer right now than eating indoors. An epidemiologist explains why, and two Toronto restaurant owners explain their next steps.
Is it safe to swim in a pool during the COVID-19 pandemic?
With the closure of public swimming pools across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many may be left wondering how safe it will be to return to these spaces once they reopen.
According to Matthew Miller, a biochemistry professor at McMaster University in Hamilton who is studying the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 is highly unlikely to be transmitted through water.
Researchers hope CRISPR gene-editing technology can yield rapid at-home COVID-19 test
Researchers in the U.S. are using the gene-editing technology known as CRISPR to devise a COVID-19 diagnostic test that they say could be quick, cheap and only slightly more complicated than a pregnancy test.
Increased demand from surgeries causing concern for Canadian Blood Services
Canadian Blood Services says the resumption of elective surgeries following months of COVID-19 lockdown is putting a worrisome drain on the national blood supply.
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Sunset Cinema @ Home: June 19
Stay home, stay healthy, and support Oakville Hospital healthcare heroes! Join
the Oakville Hospital Foundation
for Sunset Cinema @ Home, the perfect summer movie night on Friday, June 19 at 7pm.
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The virtual edition of the Walk to End ALS event will take place June 21. ALS partner, Brain Canada, is offering a dollar for dollar match of up to $1 million to invest in promising ALS research.
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Starting tomorrow, Oakville Public Library will begin offering contactless holds pickups and the ability to return borrowed library materials at select locations. Details at opl.on.ca
Branches: Glen Abbey – Iroquois Ridge - Woodside
Library Take-out and materials return will be available from 11:30-7 on Tuesday and Thursday and 9:30-5 on Saturday.
The materials return process follows the same after-hours process as pre-COVID19.
Library Take-Out holds pick-up process:
Customers can place holds as usual from
www.opl.ca
, or
- a.by calling one of the open branches during open hours
i. GA -
(905) 815-2039)
ii. IR -
(905) 338-4247
iii. WS -
(905) 815-2036
Once their hold is available, customers will be contacted either by email or phone to select a pick-up slot. Each time slot is 30 minutes and has limited spots available.
On their selected date/time, customers can arrive at their indicated branch and pick-up their hold(s) from the vestibule.
Customers enjoy their new materials
Monday, June 8
•
12 pm
Let's Talk About Books, Movies & More: Romantic Comedies
This week, we'll discuss our favourite books, movies and more that relate to Romantic Comedies. "Let's Talk About" are weekly, virtual sessions that explore different themes in arts, culture and literature.
Join us on
Zoom
(Meeting ID: 975 6201 8912) or call 1-647-558-0588.
Monday, June 8
•
6 pm
Halton County Genealogy Meetup
Come together with other family historians virtually, courtesy of our partner Ontario Ancestors, to learn more about genealogy.
Tuesdays & Thursdays • 10 am
Family Storytime on Instagram Live
Get moving with stories, songs and fun during Family Storytime! Hosted virtually on Instagram Live. Follow
@oakvillelibrary on Instagram
.
Tuesdays & Thursdays • 2 pm
Kids Library Club
Join us on Tuesdays and Thursdays as we explore fun activities in the fields of science, technology, art and more! Tuesday's session will be
Book Club
and Thursday is
Hour of Code
. Limited spaces.
Tuesday, June 9 • 3 pm
Design Thinking in partnership with Oakville Museum
Join Oakville Museum for a mini-crash course on Design Thinking. Based on teachings from Stanford University’s d.school, discover how to use design thinking to solve problems in creative and innovative ways.
Wednesday, June 10 • 1 pm
Better Brain Health presented by the Alzheimer Society
Join a representative from the Alzheimer Society and learn about dementia, its causes, and the top five things you can do to reduce your chances of diagnosis.
Wednesday, June 10 • 3 pm
Virtual Book Club:
Dinner with Edward by Isabel Vincent
Our Virtual Adult Book Club meets every Wednesday!
Join us on
Zoom
(Meeting ID: 931 1411 1835) or call 1-647-558-0588.
Thursday, June 11
•
11 am
Let's Talk About Books, Movies & More: International Fiction
This week, we'll discuss our favourite books, movies and more that relate to International Fiction. "Let's Talk About" are weekly, virtual sessions that explore different themes in arts, culture and literature.
Join us on
Zoom
(Meeting ID: 943 7233 0505) or call 1-647-558-0588.
Thursday, June 11
•
6:30 pm
How to make a Webcomic!
Join Jey Pawlik, a Toronto-based non-binary artist behind Gender Slices and Dead City, for a virtual chat on everything you need to know about creating a webcomic and sharing them online.
Friday, June 12 • 10 am
Virtual Crafty Bees Meetup with The Hive
An informal, weekly craft meetup to share what you’re working on, and gather inspiration from fellow craft enthusiasts.
Join us on
Zoom
(Meeting ID: 936 5905 6875, Password: 756445) or call 1-647 374 4685.
Fridays and Saturdays • 10 am
Family Storytime on YouTube
Follow
OPL on YouTube
and enjoy pre-recorded Family Storytime on Fridays and Saturdays at 10 am. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube page so you don't miss out!
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Staff Book Recommendations on YouTube
Listen to over 100 short book reviews from OPL staff, uploaded weekly on
YouTube
.
Daily
Virtual Tech Help
Book a virtual one-on-one session for basic technology assistance. Limited sessions.
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Food Banks experiencing record demand
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Oakville's food banks are in record-breaking demand. If you can donate anything, please do. Your help is needed.
Kerr Street Mission:
905-845-7485 or donate online at kerrstreet.com
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Oakville Meals on Wheels continues to operate
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Oakville Meals on Wheels continues to operate under increased safety measures. I
f you know or are aware of someone who is struggling, call 211 and get help to navigate the network of health, community and social service programs. This service is offered 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and has interpretation for over 150 languages. And, if you are able, please consider supporting the Meals on Wheels effort by making a donation.
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Downtown Oakville Instagram live series
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On Wednesday, May 6 Downtown Oakville will be launching a weekly Instagram Live Series hosted by different Downtown businesses. The live events will allow you to purchase products, participate in fitness classes, attend workshops, and more!
Follow @oakvilledowntown on Instagram to learn more and tune in.
Schedule
June 10 at 1 p.m. - Makers Mojo
June 17 at 2 p.m. - Must Boutique
June 24 at 7 p.m. - Dr. Adrienne, Naturopathic Doctor
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Call the COVID-19 hotline
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For the duration of the pandemic, if a member of the public wishes to report an incident of non-compliance with the emergency orders, they may contact the Halton Regional Police Service COVID-19 Hotline: 905-825-4722
It is critical that our residents use 911 for emergencies only.
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