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Toronto announces COVID-19 health guidelines for restaurants Doug Ford to share stage 2 reopening details next week

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5:30 pm Toronto reports 198 new COVID-19 cases, 45 more deaths

Toronto Public Health has reported an increase of 198 cases of COVID-19 since yesterday – more than half the 344 cases the province reported this morning.

In total, there are 12,033 cases of COVID-19 in the city. There are 352 patients in hospital, with 86 in ICU.

The number of people who have recovered in the city is 9,304, up by 173 cases since yesterday. Another 45 people have died. To date, the virus has killed 890 people in Toronto.


4:04 pm Toronto releases health guidelines for restaurants

What will it be like to go to a restaurant once they’re allowed to reopen? The city has released guidelines for restaurants and bars that includes logging customer and staff’s names for contact tracing purposes.

Toronto’s medical officer of health Eileen de Villa said today that public health guidelines for restaurants, which are expected to reopen during the second stage of Ontario’s economic reopening plan, must ensure space between tables for physical distancing, frequently clean and disinfect surfaces, provide additional training for staff and keep a log of customer and staff check-in times so city officials can quickly notify the establishment if a customer later tests positive.

Public health officials recommend non-medical masks or face coverings be worn inside and operators may make masks mandatory for customers except when eating. Barriers such as plexiglas are also recommended, but not mandatory. Customers who have COVID-19 can be denied entry.

The city is reducing red tape for restaurants and bars that want to expand patio space this summer through the program CafeTO. The province ordered restaurants and bars to close in March except for takeout. Premier Doug Ford has said he will announce details of the second stage in the reopening plan next week.


1:45 pm Doug Ford says he doesn’t support federal paid sick leave plan

Premier Doug Ford said today that he doesn’t support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to enact a national 10 days paid sick leave policy.

“I don’t support it. We have legislation that protects jobs,” Ford said during today’s news conference at Queen’s Park.

He said that paid sick leave was a priority for British Columbia, but “there wasn’t too much take up” on that issue from other premiers. Ford said he would rather see federal money go toward long-term care or cash-strapped municipalities.

Trudeau has proposed giving the provinces $14 billion in the form of targeted transfers to help them recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Ford countered today that Ontario alone needs $23 billion.

The prime minister has not yet indicated how the national sick leave policy would be paid for.


1:30 pm Doug Ford to share details of stage 2 reopening next week

Premier Doug Ford said today that he will share details of the province’s stage 2 reopening, as well as the plan for reopening child-care, next week.

During his daily Queen’s Park news conference, Ford also called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s proposed $14 billion federal bailout for the provinces “the start of the conversation, not the end.”

“We have a $23 billion problem in Ontario and $14 billion for all of Canada won’t solve the problem,” he said, adding that Ontario taxpayers send more to Ottawa in taxes than they receive back in transfers and services. “We’re asking for just our fair share of that money.”


12 pm Canada’s unemployment rate hits record high at 13.7 per cent

The Canadian economy added 289,600 jobs in May even as the national jobless rate hit a record high at 13.7 per cent.

Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the country recovered by 10.6 per cent from the loss of 3 million jobs from March to April after provinces enacted lockdown measures to curb spread of COVID-19. Another 2.5 million workers had their hours cut.

People working less than half their normal hours dropped to 292,000 in May, Stats Can noted.

The unemployment rate is the highest recorded rate since comparable data became available in 1976. Prior to the COVID-19 economic shutdown in February, the unemployment rate was 5.6 per cent and hit 13.0 per cent in April, which was a record high since 1982.

StatsCan based the number on a study of  labour market conditions from May 10 to May 16.


11:42 am Ottawa offers the provinces and territories $14B to restart economy

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today that he’s offered the premiers $14 billion in aid to help the national economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The money would be used to buy personal protective equipment (PPE), child-care, funding to municipalities and support vulnerable people, such as seniors in long-term care.

Trudeau said that the bailout plan will reflect the differing situations in each province. The money will be issued in the form of targeted transfers.

The federal government will also give Canadians with disabilities a one-time, non-taxable payment of up to $600. Ottawa is funding five projects to help people with disabilities access supportive devices to overcome barriers in the workplace, Trudeau added.


11 am Ontario 344 new COVID-19 cases, 15 more deaths

The number of new COVID-19 cases continue to increase by the hundreds. On Friday, provincial public health officials reported another 344 new cases, an increase of 1.2 per cent. Ontario’s total cases now stand at 29,747. Of those cases, 23,583 are now considered resolved.

After yesterday’s spike in deaths, the number of people who have died since yesterday dropped to 15. The virus has killed 2,372 in Ontario to date.

There are 749 people in hospital, including 118 in intensive care and 94 in intensive care on ventilators.

Testing continues to surge above capacity. There were 22,730 tests completed since yesterday and another 12,247 cases are under investigation.


9 am Canada has more than 93,000 cases of COVID-19

There are 93,726 cases of COVID-19 in Canada and 7,637 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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