Office of the Mayor and Council Update
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Monday, April 27 COVID-19 emergency
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On April 28, the Day of Mourning, we remember those who lost their lives or had their lives changed forever because of something that happened in their workplace.
Statistics show that each year, more than 1,000 workers lose their lives in the workplace, and this is a day to honour them. This year, the virtual candlelight vigil will honour the theme "Stop the Pandemic at Work". The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live and work and essential workers are still going to work every day so that others can stay home.
In addition to participating in the virtual candlelight vigil, I encourage you to stay home to help those who can't. Let's all work together to help ensure none of our essential workers lose their lives unnecessarily during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For an update on where we've come from and where we are during the emergency, please scroll to the end of this email.
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Items in this update:
- COVID case counts
- Online donation app helps support Oakville small business from a distance
- Edgemere Promenade trail closed
- Grasshopper Energy Donates PPE to medical offices
- COVID-19 recommendations for grocery and retail stores from Halton Public Health
- Premier and Ministers Commit to New Phased Approach for a Safe Restart and Recovery
- School closures extended
- Community gardens declared essential
- Patient Ombudsman taking complains
- Ontario offering pandemic pay
- Mississauga’s Mayor seeks support, not bailout
- Beware phoney OPP officers
- Government of Canada launches applications for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy
- Tracking the coronavirus
- How Canada compares
- Silent spreaders
- COVID-19 causing blood clots, sudden strokes in young adults, doctors say
- Here's how quickly cities across Canada are burning through cash
- Canadians have been told to stay home during the pandemic. Are we listening?
- Tips for connecting with seniors
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Total confirmed cases in Halton have increased by 7 cases from 422 cases yesterday to
429
with
4
more confirmed cases in Oakville, from 133 to
137
.
There were also 6 recoveries in Oakville from 107 to
113
.
the Provincial Government is reporting 14,856 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario; this number includes those cases that have been reported as resolved or deceased.
Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada reports 47,327 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Canada with 2,617 deaths
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Online donation app helps support Oakville small business from a distance
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Today, my Oakville Economic Task Force announces the launch of
Distantly.ca
in Oakville; an online crowd-funding platform to connect small business with community donations.
The Oakville Economic Task Force recognized early in the COVID-19 pandemic the need to support local businesses to help them get through this difficult time and be part of the eventual recovery. As many residents have come forward asking how they can support local businesses, the Distantly.ca app is a way they can help. By donating to local businesses through the app, you’ll help ensure your favourite businesses survive the pandemic and will be able to open their doors for recovery. We encourage all those who are able to donate to help reduce the impact of COVID-19 on Oakville’s main street businesses
Distantly.ca is an online application designed to help patrons support their favourite local business from a distance. The platform is easy to use and secure, and allows the community to provide financial support to the business of their choice through direct donations. As main street businesses are faced with unprecedented financial challenges, Distantly provides a creative solution to help businesses survive the pandemic.
Initially piloted in the City of Toronto, Distantly.ca is now open to all small businesses. Business owners can visit the website to create an online donation page through a secure verification process. Money donated will go directly to the business, with the intent to lessen the financial impact facing the small business community.
The Economic Task Force has worked in partnership to connect local businesses with the platform for onboarding. Distantly provides Oakville’s small businesses with an opportunity to access immediate financial relief through community support.
Oakville’s Economic Task Force is also concentrating efforts on long term recovery planning. Local businesses are invited to participate in a short
online survey
to help inform Town priorities and initiatives in support of Oakville’s economic recovery.
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Edgemere Promenade trail closed
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Edgemere Promenade trail has been closed due to repeated complaints and police concerns about people congregating, fishing, families throwing stones in the water, and physical distancing not being practiced. There are signs at the entry points of the promenade letting residents know about the trail closure at this time.
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Grasshopper Energy Donates PPE to medical offices
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Today, Grasshopper Energy provided a donation of 2,000 surgical masks, 464 KN95 masks and 58 big boxes with sanitizers to PPE for Halton - an organization that collects personal protective equipment for Oakville and Halton doctors’ offices.
I accepted the donation along with MPP Stephen Crawford at Town Hall today.
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Halton Region Public Health: COVID-19 recommendations for grocery and retail stores
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Halton Region Public Health
has compiled some
helpful tips
for owners of grocery and retail stores on how to prevent the spread of #COVID19 and keep retail staff and customers safe.
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Premier and Ministers Commit to New Phased Approach for a Safe Restart and Recovery
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Today, the Ontario government released
A Framework for Reopening our Province
, which outlines the criteria Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health and health experts will use to advise the government on the loosening of emergency measures, as well as guiding principles for the safe, gradual reopening of businesses, services and public spaces. The framework also provides details of an outreach strategy, led by the Ontario Jobs and Recovery Committee, to help inform the restart of the provincial economy.
The government is planning a stage-by-stage approach to reopening the economy to ensure there are appropriate measures in place so workplaces can open safely. Public health officials will carefully monitor each stage for two to four weeks, as they assess the evolution of the COVID-19 outbreak to determine if it is necessary to change course to maintain public health.
- Stage 1: For businesses that were ordered to close or restrict operations, opening select workplaces that can immediately modify operations to meet public health guidance. Opening some outdoor spaces like parks and allowing for a greater number of individuals to attend some events. Hospitals would also begin to offer some non-urgent and scheduled surgeries, and other health care services.
- Stage 2: Opening more workplaces, based on risk assessments, which may include some service industries and additional office and retail workplaces. Some larger public gatherings would be allowed, and more outdoor spaces would open.
- Stage 3: Opening of all workplaces responsibly and further relaxing of restrictions on public gatherings.
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On Sunday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced that all publicly-funded schools will remain closed until at least May 31, 202,a s part of an effort to keep students, staff and families safe from COVID-19.
The extension was based on expert advice from the Chief Medical Officer of Health and health officials on the COVID-19 Command Table and is part of the government's ongoing effort to stop the spread of the virus. The advice was to extend school closures for an additional period of time to permit updated modelling and data to inform next steps, given the government's absolute commitment to safety.
Read the full release
here.
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Community gardens declared essential
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Ontario issued an emergency order early Saturday that immediately opens allotment and community gardens, declaring the gardens essential.
A statement posted on the government’s website says gardening will be permitted under a subsection of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, describing the gardens as:
‘an essential source of fresh food for some individuals and families, including those who face food insecurity.’
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Patient Ombudsman taking complains
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Anyone with relevant information about COVID-19 issues in Ontario’s long-term care homes is encouraged to make a
complaint
or call
1-888-321-0339
.
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Ontario offering pandemic pay
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The Ontario government is providing frontline staff with a temporary pandemic payment.
This increase will provide four dollars per hour worked on top of existing hourly wages, regardless of the qualified employee's hourly wage. In addition, employees working over 100 hours per month would receive lump sum payments of $250 per month for each of the next four months. This means that eligible employees working an average of 40 hours per week would receive $3,560 in additional compensation. Those eligible to receive the payment will be staff working in long-term care homes, retirement homes, emergency shelters, supportive housing, social services congregate care settings, corrections institutions and youth justice facilities, as well as those providing home and community care and some staff in hospitals.
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Mississauga’s Mayor seeks support, not bailout
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Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie on the weekend penned a lengthy social media post explaining why municipalities need provincial relief and federal support so as not to have to increase property taxes by double digit numbers.
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Beware phoney OPP officers
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The OPP is advising the public that police are not conducting random traffic stops to check motorists’ work status during the COVID-19 pandemic, nor are drivers required to prove they are an essential worker to police.
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Government of Canada launches applications for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy
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All claims that are approved through the CRA’s automated verification process will be sent for payment on May 5 and direct deposit should begin May 7.
Some applications will require a secondary verification, done manually, and in these cases the CRA may contact employers to verify information. It is expected that these secondary verifications will take no more than 72 hours in the vast majority of cases.
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Tracking the coronavirus
CBC’s data on the number of COVID-19 cases looks at the numbers globally, in Canada and each province.
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Plot the numbers by region and day to see how Canada’s COVID cases compare with this interactive tool.
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Many crucial questions remain but experts say silent spreaders are likely one of the embers keeping this pandemic aflame. And the implications are potentially huge for everything from testing strategies to how vulnerable nursing homes are protected — especially as countries like Canada move toward relaxing restrictions.
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COVID-19 causing blood clots, sudden strokes in young adults, doctors say
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The new coronavirus appears to be causing sudden strokes in adults in their 30s and 40s who are not otherwise terribly ill. There's growing evidence that COVID-19 infection can cause the blood to clot in unusual ways, and stroke would be an expected consequence of that.
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Here's how quickly cities across Canada are burning through cash
Read about
how local governments from coast-to-coast are struggling with COVID-19 economics.
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Canadians have been told to stay home during the pandemic. Are we listening?
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New data
suggests Canadians may already be deciding on their own to head out of the house a little more often.
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Tips for connecting with seniors
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AMICA Senior Lifestyles offers the following tips for loved ones to connect with the seniors in their lives:
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United Way virtual campaign
Friday, May 8, 2020
12:00-12:30 P.M.
Attire is comfortable, sneakers and track pants welcomed!
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ALS walk
The virtual edition of the Walk to End ALS event will take place on June 21st.
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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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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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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