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Toronto surpasses 1,000 COVID-19 deaths Ottawa teams with Shopify on contact-tracing app Ontario plans to extend state of emergency to July 15

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3:15 pm Toronto reports 73 new COVID-19 cases, four more deaths

Toronto Public Health officials have reported 73 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the city’s total to 13,661. Of those cases, 11,501 people have recovered, up by 104 cases since yesterday. 

There are 276 people hospitalized, with 72 in intensive care.

As reported early, Toronto has reached the grim milestone of 1,000 deaths. Four more people have died since yesterday. In total, the virus has killed 1,002 people in Toronto.


1:49 pm Large gatherings can still be banned after state of emergency expires: Ford

Yesterday, the government tabled a motion to extend the state of emergency to July 15.

In a statement, Doug Ford’s office said the premier was hopeful this would be the last time the province would have to extend the legislation, which allows the government to create and enforce emergency orders.

At his Queen’s Park news conference today, Ford was asked if large gatherings would continue to be prohibited if the legislation expires in mid-July.

“Any orders we take off we can’t put back on,” Ford said, “but the ones that are in place can continue moving forward.”

In Ontario’s phased reopening plan, the government has said large events such as concerts would be prohibited for the “foreseeable future.”


1:30 pm Doug Ford outlines contact-tracing strategy

Premier Doug Ford gave more details about a contact-tracing that app that was developed in Ontario and will be used nationwide. Justin Trudeau announced the app at his news conference in Ottawa earlier today.

Called COVID Alert, the app is the centrepiece of a contact-tracing strategy that the provincial government outlined today.

“Personal privacy was our number one priority as we worked to develop this app,” he said, adding that it was developed in partnership with Ottawa and volunteers at the e-commerce company Shopify.

“One of the overarching principles is ensuring the privacy and security for all users, which is why the government will leverage BlackBerry volunteer expertise to audit the security and privacy of the application, in addition to the province’s internal security reviews,” the government said in a statement.

The province is also building up a pool of contact tracers from the public service so that public health units can continue to conduct non-COVID-related duties, such as food inspections.

The province is also integrated the contact management system with COVID-19 labs to reduce the administrative burden for public health unit staff. “A single central system will enable the province to identify province-wide regional trends and hotspots, while protecting personal health information,” the government said. “Custom-built on the Salesforce platform, the new system will also allow for a remote workforce, enabling contact tracing to be quickly ramped up when required.”

Health Minister Christine Elliott added the strategy “will ensure that we are able to stop the spread of COVID-19 as we gradually reopen the province. To support these efforts, we are dramatically expanding staffing levels and getting on with the long-overdue work of replacing outdated systems that no longer meet the needs of public health units.”


1:15 pm Toronto surpasses 1,000 COVID-19 deaths

More than a thousand people have died from COVID-19 in Toronto, Medical Officer of Health Eileen de Villa said today.

“It is so important for us to take a moment, to look beyond these numbers and remember that each death represents a unique life,” de Villa wrote in a statement. “One thousand people have died from COVID-19 and have left behind friends, family members and neighbours. These losses are deeply personal for those who knew and loved them. This is made even more difficult because our current circumstances limit our ability to comfort one another in person.”

In total, 1,002 people have died from COVID in Toronto according to the latest Toronto Public Health figures.

For context, she added that 44 people died during the SARS outbreak in 2003 in the GTA and each year the city loses approximately 1,000 people to heart attacks and related cardiovascular disease.

Since no vaccine or treatment is available for COVID-19, de Villa said Toronto will experience more deaths.


11:13 pm Ottawa teams with Shopify, BlackBerry on contact-tracing app

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a new contact-tracing app that has been developed in partnership with the Canadian Digital Service, Shopify, Blackberry and the government of Ontario.

Trudeau said the app will be available across the country in the “coming days” and that Ontario Premier Doug Ford would provide more details at his 1 pm Queen’s Park new conference.

The prime minister stressed that the app is voluntary but that it would be most effective the more people download it.

“At no time will personal information be collected or shared. No location services will be used. The privacy of Canadians will be respected,” he said.

Here’s how it works: If you test positive, a health-care professional will help you upload your status anonymously to national network. Other people who have the app and were in proximity to you will then be alerted they’ve been exposed to someone who tested positive. That alert will encourage the users to contact their local public health unit.


11 am Ontario reports 173 new COVID-19 cases, three more deaths

Ontario public health officials have reported less than 200 new COVID-19 cases for the fifth straight day.

The province has confirmed 173 new infections, bringing the total to 32,917. That’s also the lowest increase in new cases since March 28.

Of tho the total cases, 85 per cent are resolved – or 28,004, up 220 since yesterday.

Another three people have died. In total, the virus has killed 2,553 people in Ontario.

Health Minister Christine Elliot tweeted that 26 of Ontario’s 34  public health units are reporting five or fewer cases of COVID-19 and 16 reported no new cases. Hospitalizations, intensive care admissions and vented patients all continue to decline, she added, with numbers falling to 351, 84 and 60 respectively.

There were 25,278 tests completed since yesterday and another 24,887 cases are under investigation.


9:10 am Premier proposes extending state of emergency to July 15

Premier Doug Ford has proposed extending the state of emergency to July 15.

On Wednesday, the Ontario government tabled a motion in the legislature to extend the law, which allows the government to create and enforce emergency orders, in a motion that will be debated next week.

“Thanks to the collective efforts of every Ontarian, the COVID-19 trends in our province are moving in the right direction and the Premier is hopeful that this will the final extension,” the premier’s office said in a statement.

The province has extended emergency orders to June 30. Ford first declared the state of emergency on March 17.


9:10 am TTC approves mandatory mask policy

Face masks will become mandatory for all riders on all TTC vehicles beginning on July 2.

At a meeting yesterday, the TTC Board approved the measure with exemptions for children under age two, people with medical considerations and people who are unable to take off or put on a face covering.

The city will work with the Poverty Reduction Office to conduct a one-time distribution of one million masks on June 29 in lower income areas.

“We’ve already seen an increase in the number of people wearing face coverings on the TTC since we began strongly recommending this practice in the middle of May,” said TTC CEO Rick Leary in a statement.

TTC employees who work behind a physical shield or in areas not accessible to the public are also exempt from the rule. The transit agency said in a statement that officials do not plan to strictly enforce the rule but will monitor compliance to “determine if further action is needed.”


9:05 am Visits to long-term care homes to resume today

As of today, Ontario is allowing visitors to long-term care homes to resume with restrictions in place. Residents will be allowed one visitor per week and the visits must take place outdoors.

There are different rules for retirement homes. Residents can receive visitors indoors and outdoors at the discretion of the home. The home can also determine the number of visitors allowed per resident.

Physical distancing is required in both settings and all visitors must have tested negative for COVID-19 in the previous two weeks. Homes must also have a protocol that is clearly communicated to visitors alongside safety measures. 

Only homes free of an outbreak will be able to accept visitors.


9 am Ontario temporarily bans commercial evictions

The Ontario government passed legislation yesterday that temporarily bans commercial evictions. The law, which prevents tenants from being locked out or having  assets seized during the pandemic, is in effect until August 31 and retroactive to May 1.

The government says the ban does not apply to commercial tenants participating in the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program, which sees landlords and tenants splitting rent with the provincial and federal governments and agreeing to a moratorium on evictions for three months.

Small business owners and business improvement associations have criticized CECRA as insufficient, and argued an eviction ban was needed to protect tenants with landlords who aren’t opting in to the program.


8:30 am Canada has more than 99,000 cases of COVID-19

As of June 17, there are 99,853 cases of COVID-19 in Canada and 8,254 people have died.

The outbreak is a serious public health threat though most people who contract the virus have not been hospitalized. 

Symptoms include cough, fever, difficulty breathing and pneumonia in both lungs and may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure. People age 65 and over and people with compromised immune systems and/or underlying medical conditions have a higher risk of contracting a severe case.

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