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Ontario announces school is out for the summer Queen’s Park to launch independent commission into long-term care sector

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4:45 pm Toronto reports 263 new COVID-19 cases, seven deaths

Public health officials have reported an increase of 263 COVID-19 cases in Toronto since yesterday, bringing the city’s total to 8,866. Of those cases, 6,616 are considered resolved, an increase of 124. In total, 690 people have died and there are 137 outbreaks in long-term care homes and other institutional settings.


3:07 pm Toronto reopens off-leash dog areas

The city has officially reopened more than 70 dog off-leash areas. The areas are among the park amenities allowed to reopen under stage one of Ontario’s reopening plan, which starts today.

Dog owners will have to follow a physical distancing rules. Signage will be installed at the off-leash areas reminding people to stay two metres (six feet) apart – “or the length of three dogs,” as the city put it in a press release.

Other park amenities that are part of the province’s first phase of recovery will be announced in the coming days. However, public health officials confirmed today that outdoor playgrounds, play structures and equipment, fitness equipment, public swimming pools, splash pads and similar outdoor water facilities will remain closed until further notice.


1:24 pm Ontario announces schools will remain closed for the rest of the year 

School’s out for the summer.

After weeks of speculation on whether regular classes would resume this year amid the pandemic, the Ontario government made it official this afternoon. There will be no resumption of classes until at least the fall.

Instead, the province announced plans to continue online courses for students in kindergarten to grade 12.

“The safety of our children is our number one priority and that’s why after careful consideration we cannot open schools at this time. I’m not going to risk it,” said Premier Doug Ford.

The Ontario government also announced that overnight camps will not open as scheduled this summer. Ford offered some “good news.” He said that as long as trends continue to improve on COVID cases summer day camps may open. The premier’s live-feed cut out midway through the announcement.

After it resumed, education minister Stephen Lecce said that some in-class learning will be offered this summer for students who want it along with online schooling.

The minister was also asked about the possibility of temperature checks and other safety measures when school does resume in the fall. The minister was unable to offer many specifics. He said those will be unveiled by the end of the school year.

“It is obvious that school will not look the same,” Lecce said. “We will have to reimagine education.”

The news comes amid growing pressure to re-open schools – Quebec opened some schools earlier this month and BC has introduced voluntary classes – and as the province announced a spike in new cases today.

Meanwhile, health officials with the World Health Organization warned today that the pandemic will be with us for some time, despite a massive global effort to come up with a vaccine.


11:28 am City agrees to physical distancing standards in shelter system following a lawsuit

The City of Toronto has committed to physical distancing standards across its shelter system after the deaths of two shelter residents and more than 300 COVID-19 cases at some 21 sites.

A coalition of frontline homelessness service providers had filed a lawsuit against the city and the Province of Ontario last month alleging a failure to protect the lives of those experiencing homelessness during the pandemic.

The agreement, which was reached last Friday and will be formalized this morning (Tuesday, May 19), comes just before an injunction motion claiming a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Human Rights Code was scheduled to be heard in the Superior Court of Justice on June 8.

Jessica Orkin, a lawyer at Goldblatt Partners representing the coalition said in a statement this morning that “Ten weeks into the COVID-10 pandemic, the City has finally committed to ensuring that Toronto shelters meet minimal public health standards for physical distancing.”

She added that “The coalition will remain vigilant to ensure that the City complies with its obligations under this agreement and is prepared to take further legal steps, if necessary, to ensure that people experiencing homelessness are supported during this pandemic.”

Read more here.


11:16 am Ottawa expands eligibility for Canada Emergency Business Account

The federal government is expanding the eligibility for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to include sole proprietors and businesses that rely on contract labour, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today. Family-owned businesses that pay employees through dividends are now eligible for the loan program as well.

The PM said more details about when these types of businesses can apply will be announced “very soon.” The CEBA allows the banks to provide up to a $40,000 in interest-free loans to businesses, with up to $10,000 forgiven when the government-backed loan is repaid.

Trudeau also said the government is working relief measures on business owners who operate through personal bank accounts, or have yet to file a tax return, such as newly created businesses.


11:08 am Canada and the United States extend border restrictions for 30 days

Canada and the United States have extended the border closure for another 30 days, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed today. The two countries first put temporary restrictions on non-essential travel on March 21 and extended the measures again in April.


10:45 am Ontario reports 427 new COVID-19 cases, 15 deaths

Ontario public health officials have reported 427 new COVID-19 cases, 1.9 per cent increase since the previous day. The province’s number of cases is now 23,384 and of those cases, 17,898 have recovered.

There have also been 15 more deaths – the lowest single-day death toll since early April. The total number of people who have died in Ontario is 1,919.

There are 987 people in hospital, with 167 in intensive care and 123 patients in intensive care on ventilators.

There are 1,456 long-term health care workers infected with COVID-19 and 4,235 long-term care patients have contracted the virus.


10:15 am Ontario extends emergency orders to May 29, allows drive-in religious gatherings

After the provincial legislature voted to extend the state of emergency to June 2, Doug Ford’s government has extended emergency orders to May 29. The orders include closing bars and restaurants except for takeout and delivery and prohibiting social gatherings of more than five people.

The government is now exempting drive-in religious gatherings from the emergency order related to social gatherings. These events will be allowed as long as the following rules are followed: keep two metres or more apart, only members of the same household can be in one vehicle, people cannot leave their vehicles and no more than five people can conduct the service at one time from outside a motor vehicle and must also stay at least two metres apart.

In a statement, the provincial government noted that only some outdoor recreational amenities will reopen today as part of stage one of the economy reopening. Effective today, outdoor sports facilities and multi-use fields, off-leash dog areas, and outdoor picnic sites, benches and shelters in parks and recreational areas will reopen. However, outdoor playgrounds, play structures and equipment, fitness equipment, public swimming pools, splash pads and similar outdoor water facilities will remain closed “until later stages of the province’s reopening plan.”

Yesterday, Mayor John Tory said in an interview with CP24 that he hoped public pools would reopen in the “next few weeks.”


10 am Ontario to launch independent commission into long-term care sector

Queen’s Park is launching an independent into the province’s long-term care system.

In a statement, Minister of Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton said the commission will begin in September and will be non-partisan. Details – including terms of reference, membership, leadership of the commission and reporting timelines – will be finalized in the months ahead.

“We have been clear the long-term care system in Ontario is broken,” she said. “We must act quickly and decisively, and that is why an independent non-partisan commission is the best way to conduct a thorough and expedited review.”

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the province’s long-term care sector hard. There have been 189 outbreaks reported and 1,389 long-term care residents have died. The virus has continued to spread in care homes in recent weeks as the government has brought Canadian Armed Forces personnel to assist in homes and implemented mandatory testing, among other measures.

Ontario’s opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and the Ontario Long Term Care Association  have called for a public inquiry into the sector.


9 am Education minister to to make announcement about school year

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce are expected to announce today whether or not the school year will continue. Students have been out of class since mid-March as the province closed publicly funded schools in response to the pandemic.

Ford has said Lecce would reveal the fate of the school year on May 19, as well as plans for the summer and fall. The province launched an online learning portal and a distance learning program.

Lecce is also expected to update parents on when child-care services will resume.


9 am Some businesses to reopen in Ontario today

Street-front retailers, vehicle dealerships, pet care services and sport centres are among the businesses that will be allowed to reopen today as Ontario enters stage one of its reopening plan.

Public health officials have said businesses and workplaces must follow physical distancing guidelines and those that can’t should not open. Meanwhile, some business owners and politicians have suggested it’s too early to start reopening safely.


9 am Canada has more than 78,000 cases of COVID-19

There are 78,072 cases of COVID-19 in Canada and 5,842 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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