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Child-care centres to reopen across Ontario on June 12 Toronto expands bike share program

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4:15 pm Toronto reports 121 new COVID-19 cases, eight more deaths

Toronto Public Health has reported an increase of 121 new COVID-19, bringing the city’s total to 12,828. Of those cases, 9,907 have recovered, up by 161 since yesterday.

Another eight people have died. In all, the virus has killed 952 people in the city.

There are also 335 patients in hospital, with 77 in intensive care units.


2:33 pm No evidence Trinity Bellwoods crowd linked to COVID-19 activity: Public Health

Toronto Public Health (TPH) officials have not found any link between the crowd of thousands that gathered at Trinity Bellwoods Park on May 23 to recent COVID-19 cases.

In a response to a Twitter user, TPH said:  “So far there has been no evidence of increased COVID-19 activity that can be linked to the gathering in Trinity Bellwoods Park on May 23rd. However, COVID-19 continues to circulate in Toronto & over 65% of cases reported since that day are from a close contact.

“We urge residents to continue practicing physical distancing & to keep with members of your household only when going outside. We are closely monitoring our data as the city slowly reopens.”

The crowd prompted the city to release an unattributed statement denouncing the gathering. The following week, city officials began drawing social distancing circles on the grass in the park to encourage people to keep two metres distance from one another.


1:24 pm Police lay charge after man wears blackface to anti-Black racism protest

Toronto police have laid a charge of causing a disturbance after a man showed up at an anti-Black racism protest at Nathan Phillips Square wearing blackface makeup.

Police say officers were advised of the man’s presence at the June 6 rally and “promptly engaged” with him. The man was then arrested for beaching the peace.

Deivis Shtembari, 28, is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall on July 16.


1:19 pm Ford clarifies public health rationale for limits on wedding and funeral guests

At his daily Queen’s Park news conference, Premier Doug Ford was asked to explain the public health logic that will see places of worship reopen on Friday with up to 30 per cent capacity, but weddings and funerals limited to 10 people.

Ford said people attend weddings and funerals “from all over” making contact tracing more difficult. When places of worship reopen on June 12 as part of stage 2 of the reopening plan, visitors will be required to sign in.

“It’s a lot harder to track someone as opposed to a church where everyone has to sign in,” Ford said.


1:09 pm Child-care centres to reopen across the province on June 12

Child-care centres across the province will reopen on Friday, June 12 with some restrictions in place, Premier Doug Ford said today.

The restrictions will be similar to the ones in place at emergency daycare centres that have been operating for frontline workers with not other child-care options: limiting on the number of children and staff to a defined space to 10 people, increased screening and cleaning measures, no visitors allowed, the removal of toys that could spread COVID-19 and daily attendance records for contact tracing, among other measures.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce added that parents who do not utilize their child-care space will not lose spaces nor be charged during the crisis. Child-care centres that break the rules will face penalties of $1,000 per day per child – a net 50 per cent increase over the usual penalties. The government will also step up inspections.

In-home child-care providers will also have health and safety requirements, Lecce said.

Emergency child-care will be phased out on June 26.

Summer day camps will be allowed to open with some restrictions as part of stage two, Ford said. Details will be announced soon.


12:30 pm Toronto expands bike share program

The city is expanding the bike share program by adding 1,850 new bicycles, 160 stations and 3,615 docking points.

The additions will grow the network to 20 of Toronto’s 25 wards, with a total of 6,850 bikes, 625 stations, 12,000 docking points. The expansion includes two satellite Bike Share pilot programs in North York and one in Scarborough that will add up to eight new stations in each area.

Toronto is also launching an e-bike pilot program that will see 300 pedal assist e-bikes and 10 e-bike charging stations installed around town. Further details will be announced soon.

The e-bikes allow users to travel up to 25 kilometres per hour and can travel up to 70 kilometres without requiring a charge. 


10:30 am Ontario reports 230 new COVID-19 cases, 14 more deaths

The number of new COVID-19 infections in Ontario is continuing on a downward trend.

Provincial public health officials have reported 230 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of 0.7 per cent since the previous day. Yesterday, Ontario reported 243 new cases.

The province’s total cases now stands at 31,090. Of those cases, 24,829 are resolved, up 337 since yesterday.

Another 14 people have died. In all, the virus has killed 2,464 people in the province.

In terms of testing, 13,509 tests were completed since the previous report and another 11,020 cases are under investigation.

There are 600 patients in hospital, with 116 in intensive care and 88 in intensive care on ventilators.


10:15 am Tenants to protest at Queen’s Park this afternoon

Tenants will demonstrate at Queen’s Park this afternoon to demand the province implement a permanent ban on evictions for people unable to pay rent during the pandemic.

The rally, organized by housing activist group Keep Your Rent, begins at 2 pm.

The province temporarily banned residential eviction orders and enforcement in March to prevent people from becoming homeless during the crisis.

The Toronto Foundation warned in a recent report that renters and mortgage holders are struggling to make payments and that homelessness could increase to “unprecedented” levels as a result of the pandemic.


9:20 am Doug Ford expected to announce child-care reopening

Much of Ontario – but not the GTA – will reopen on Friday, June 12 as part of the province’s phased lifting of coronavirus lockdown measures.

Today, Premier Doug Ford is expected to announce how child-care centres will reopen in order to serve parents heading back to work in the stage 2 reopening.

Among the work places and businesses allowed to reopen in 24 of the province’s 24 public health jurisdictions are museums, restaurants, hair salons, film and TV productions and shopping malls.

The province has allowed select emergency daycare centres to remain open during the COVID-19 crisis to serve frontline workers with no other child-care opens.


9:15 am Volunteers watching over fox family faced threats: Wildlife Centre

Volunteers watching over a family of foxes in the Beaches have faced verbal abuse and threats of physical violence, according to the Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC).

The foxes have been living under the Woodbine Beach boardwalk for the past two months and had become a viral sensation during the coronavirus lockdown. On May 22, one of the kits was found dead, apparently killed by a large predator, such as an off-leash dog.

The city put up a fence around the foxes and volunteers have been performing “aversive conditioning” so the foxes, which had lost their natural fear of predators, re-learn their natural behaviour.

On Monday, the TWC wrote in an Instagram post a man told a volunteer “if he had a knife he would stab her” and another man “actually went after a teenage volunteer with a knife.”

“As an organization, despite our deep concern for the fox family, the safety and well-being of our volunteers is paramount. As a result of these serious concerns, we have made the difficult decision to conclude the presence of our volunteers on site,” the TWC statement reads.

“We’re now turning to the community and anyone else who visits the Woodbine Beach area to provide the best environment for the beloved fox family,” it continues. “Keep dogs leashed and far away from the wild animals, since dogs and their close cousins coyotes are predators to foxes – habituation to a major predator could lead to another fox’s death.”

TWC said 58 volunteers have spent nearly 1,500 hours protecting the fox family from members of the public.


9 am Canada has more than 96,000 cases of COVID-19

There are 96,244 cases of COVID-19 in Canada and 7,835 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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