Office of the Mayor and Council Update
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Updates on COVID-19 emergency
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Today, Premier Doug Ford extended the province's State of Emergency orders for another month. That means only essential businesses can operate, children will not go back to school May 4 as hoped and we are all being asked to stay at home.
I know this comes as disappointing news. I know that being told to stay home is difficult. But the good news is that here Oakville it is beginning to look like our numbers are flattening thanks to the physical distancing everyone has been doing.
I encourage you all to listen to the advice of our public health experts, follow the orders of the province and together, we will get through this.
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Items in this update:
- Ontario extends Declaration of Emergency
- Questions answered on Oakville Matters
- United Way update
- COVID-19 Emergency Fund
- COVID case counts
- The power of music
- Food banks reaching record demand
- Oakville Meals on Wheels still delivering
- Get your digital daffodil
- Retirement and long-term care homes
- IMF forecasts worst global recession since 1930s
- Crowdsourcing tools map possible cases in Canada
- Border likely to remain closed for weeks
- Ontario now has 93 nursing homes with COVID-19 outbreaks
- Canadian suppliers team up to help produce 10,000 ventilators for Ontario
- Infections among Toronto’s homeless growing with 30 positive cases
- McMaster University racing to create home-based COVID-19 test
- A Georgetown doctor's story from the front lines
- Oakville drapery company making masks and scrubs
- Pastor Who Defied Social Distancing Dies After Contracting COVID-19
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Ontario extends Declaration of Emergency for one more month
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Ontario has extended its state of emergency for another 28 days. The bill to extend the measure passed during a special session at the provincial legislature today. Premier Doug Ford says it is too soon to relax measures as the province continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The order closes non-essential businesses and child-care centres until May 12.
Premier Doug
Ford also said Ontario schools will not reopen May 4. That does not mean the year is cancelled, said the premier.
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My YourTV show,
Oakville Matters,
has taken a new format in response to COVID-19. I, along with Town Councillors, are answering your most-asked questions.
You can tune in to YourTV Wednesday evening at 7:30, or visit the YourTV YouTube channel to watch past episodes.
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Last month the federal government announced a $9 million investment in United Ways across Canada to support vulnerable seniors.
United Way Halton & Hamilton has confirmed they will receive approximately $200,000 of that funding but that it has yet to be received or allocated. More information should be available early next week.
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United Way COVID-19 Emergency Fund
United Way Halton & Hamilton has established the COVID-19 Emergency Fund to help support our community’s most vulnerable in this challenging time.
The Fund is intended to provide monetary support to community-based agencies in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funding is available for local, front-line agencies supporting individuals and families experiencing poverty, isolation, and other difficult realities.
Phase 1
This phase of the Emergency Fund is directed towards agencies providing basic needs (food, personal protective equipment, hygiene products, baby products, etc.) and is currently open to United Way Halton & Hamilton supported agencies.
Phase 2
This phase of the emergency fund will be an open call to all non-profit agencies in the Halton & Hamilton regions, focusing on supporting seniors.
Phase 3
This is an open call to all non-profits in the Halton & Hamilton regions, with a focus on mental health supports and agency capacity. Basic needs requests will also be accepted.
United Way Halton & Hamilton will then continue conducting intakes when possible, based on funds available, accepting requests for basic needs, mental health supports, and community services capacity.
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Halton’s total cases have increased by 19 from 316 cases yesterday to 335 today with 3 more cases in Oakville from 110 to 113.
As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, Ontario’s regional health units are reporting 7,953 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and a total of 334 deaths.
With 530 new confirmed or probable cases reported since the same time Monday, the province saw its third day in a row of relatively low growth on a percentage basis, at 6.4 per cent. Last week, the province averaged 8.6 per cent daily growth; the week before that, it averaged 15.6 per cent growth.
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Last week, Sarah Morrison, Oakville Choir Artistic Director was contacted by Jim Miller of Brave New Films in California who wanted permission to use Oakville Choir - Raise Her Voice's recording of "Fix You" for their featured video "For Our Heroes" honouring front line workers with COVID-19.
He had contacted Chris Martin of Coldplay and received permission to use the song and that he had listened to many versions online and that he liked Raise Her Voice's the most.
From the choir: This is a lovely highlight of the power of music and how our choir is contributing even in this small way. We are truly honoured to be a part of this powerful project honouring all front-line healthcare workers.
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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 deliver
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Oakville's Meals on Wheels continues to offer services despite COVID-19. Thank you to the staff and volunteers for all they do. Please note the following measures that have been implemented to ensure everyone's safety.
- Proactive screening of clients, volunteers and staff members
- Reinforcing Government of Canada and Ontario protocols for clients, volunteers and staff members returning from affected countries
- Continuing existing infection prevention and control measures
- Ensuring volunteers and staff are informed and have access to appropriate personal protective equipment
- Monitoring the situation daily.
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Get your digital daffodil
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For the first time ever, to support social distancing and ensure the safety of those we serve, the Canadian Cancer Society made the difficult decision to suspend all face-to-face fundraising activities in April and beyond.
Instead, they're offering 'digital daffodils'
- Donate and create a Digital Daffodil on cancer.ca/daffodil – a virtual badge to honour someone you care about to share on your social media channels.
- Share your reason for supporting CCS – post your daffodil on social media, or share with our community your connection to the cause, give encouragement to those in our community facing cancer during this difficult time, etc. Please tag us on Facebook at CCSBurlington, Twitter at CCSHaltonUnit and Instagram at CCSHalton.
- Encourage community members to participate in the CCS Digital Daffodil Campaign by doing the same.
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A note on retirement and long-term care homes
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For retirement homes, which are privately owned and do not receive government funding, enforcement of government regulations comes from the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority. The RHRA was established in 2011 and is an independent, self-funded, not-for-profit regulator that is mandated by the provincial government to ensure the well-being of seniors under the
Retirement Homes Act, 2010.
The RHRA carries out their mandate by inspecting homes to ensure they comply with regulation, taking action when Retirement Homes do not meet government standards, and responding to complaints.
In contrast, Long Term Care Homes are regulated, inspected, and fees are determined by the provincial government. The law, including the
Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007
and
Ontario Regulation 79/10
, states that long-term care homes must provide residents with safe, high-quality, resident-centered care.
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IMF sees worst global recession since 1930s
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The world economy in 2020 will suffer its worst year since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the International Monetary Fund says in its latest forecast. Canada's economy to shrink by 6.2%
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New crowdsourcing tools map possible cases in Canada
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Have you ever wondered how many people in your neighbourhood have
symptoms
or have been tested? Some Canadian researchers are tapping into crowdsourcing technology to achieve just that.
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Canada-U.S. border likely to remain closed for weeks
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says shutdown of the Canada-U.S. border to all non-essential travel is likely going to be one of the suite of public health restrictions set to remain in place for weeks. This comes as the federal government imposes tougher mandatory quarantine measures for returning travellers.
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Ontario now has 93 nursing homes with COVID-19 outbreaks
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Ontario now has 93 nursing homes with COVID-19 outbreaks as attention increasingly focuses on the plight of their vulnerable residents and a growing death toll.
Premier Doug Ford says starting tonight caregivers can only work in one long-term care home at a time to stop the spread of COVID-19. Premier also announced a new plan coming tomorrow to help in long-term care homes that will involve hospital teams going into the homes. The Premier says that workers are being reallocated from hospitals because there hasn't been the surge that was feared. This is thanks to physical distancing and people staying home.
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Canadian suppliers team up to help produce 10,000 ventilators for Ontario
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Magna International Inc., Linamar Corp., Martinrea International, the government of Ontario and the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association met earlier in the week and agreed that the trio of suppliers will focus their efforts on helping manufacture ventilators.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said Friday at news conference in Toronto that the provincial government has “an active order” for 10,000 ventilators, which the suppliers will help fill.
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Infections among Toronto’s homeless growing with 30 positive cases
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The City of Toronto says 30 residents in its shelter system have tested positive for
COVID-19
.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Elaine de Villa says no one has died from the disease, but they are preparing for deaths among the homeless.
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McMaster University racing to create home-based COVID-19 test
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McMaster University researchers are hoping to get a home-based COVID-19 testing kit approved and manufactured in the next several months. The test would act similar to a pregnancy test and would reveal results in 20 minutes.
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A Georgetown doctor's story from the front lines
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Dr. Nadia Alam, a family physician and anesthetist in Georgetown and past-president of the Ontario Medical Association tells her story from the front line.
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Oakville drapery company making masks and scrubs
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Lindsay Woods, co-owner of Q Designs in Oakville, has recruited her entire team and some volunteers to create masks and scrubs in their own homes using material she'd normally use for curtains. Q Designs is providing products free of charge to reduce strain on medical supplies.
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Pastor Who Defied Social Distancing Dies After Contracting COVID-19
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The death of Gerald O. Glenn, the bishop of the New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Chesterfield, Va., was announced during Easter services.
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COVID Conversation: Canada's Supply Chain in the COVID-19 Crisis
The Oakville Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the second webinar in the COVID Conversation series this
Wednesday (April 15th), from 12:30 to 1 p.m.
President & CEO Drew Redden will have a conversation on Canada's Supply Chain during COVID-19 with Sean Finn, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer, CN.
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Haltech Virtual Office Hours
(NEW) Strategies to Optimize Cashflow-Discussion with MNP
Friday, April 17 1 – 2 p.m.
Speakers:
Divyan Panchal (Manager, Consulting Services) and Yohaan Thommy (Partner, Consulting Services)
Topics will include:
- Strategies to manage cashflow
- Provide information on a free cashflow tool that Divyan Panchal built
- Discuss how government programs can elongate the cashflow cliff
- Highlight the programs in place to help such as the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy, and Work Share program,
Register:
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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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