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Anti-lockdown protestors return to Queen’s Park Ontario reports 511 new COVID-19 cases, 55 deaths

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5:05 pm Condo residents at Yonge and Eglinton question homeless housing plan

A residents’ association representing two condo buildings near Yonge and Eglinton is questioning a city of Toronto plan to temporarily house homeless people in two midtown buildings.

The Republic Residents’ Association sent a newsletter to residents this week questioning the frequency of resident turnover and whether self-isolation and physical distancing will be enforced. The association has scheduled a meeting with city councillor Josh Matlow on Monday to discuss the matter further.

“While we recognize there are many admirable aspects to this initiative and agree with it in principle, we nonetheless have serious concerns and questions about its implementation and its impact on the safety and well-being of the neighbourhood,” the letter states. “While this arrangement is intended to be temporary, it is not a proposal and residents have already begun to move in.”

Earlier this week, Mayor John Tory announced a plan to temporarily relocate people from makeshift encampments into apartments in two adjoining four-storey buildings owned by the Times Group Corporation. The buildings will be torn down eventually, but the Times Group is leasing 125 units to the city for $55 per unit per day, pledging to donate the proceeds to food banks.

Read more here.


5 pm Toronto’s COVID-19 cases nears 6,000 mark

As of this afternoon, Toronto Public Health reports there are 5,967 cases of COVID-19 in the city, including 5,366 confirmed cases and 601 probable cases.

The number of patients in hospital is 375, with 112 in intensive care units. To date, 398 people in Toronto have died from COVID-19.


2:19 pm Toronto opens public washrooms and shower stations

This week, the city opened Sanitation and Washroom Service locations to five people in need access to showers, toilets and drinking water during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The ability to practice proper hygiene is vital to stopping the spread of COVID-19,” Toronto board of health chair Joe Cressy said in a tweet. “But, due to the closure of community and drop-in spaces, some of our most vulnerable, including those experiencing homelessness, now have limited access to washrooms and handwashing facilities.”

There are now eight portable washrooms and handwashing stations that will be cleaned and restocked twice per day. There are also six locations specifically for people experiencing homelessness that also have showers. Read more here.


1:20 pm Anti-lockdown protestors return to Queen’s Park

A group of people protesting anti-lockdown measures gathered at Queen’s Park for the second week in row. Inside, Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet ministers held a press conference to assure Ontarians that the province will be ready to respond to emergencies during the spring flooding season.

When asked about the protestors, Ford’s response was more measured than last week, when he called the protestors “a bunch of yahoos.”

“I understand. People are hurting out there and people want to get back to work,” he said. “But what they’re doing is putting their lives in jeopardy as far as I’m concerned with congregating side by side.

“I’m not against any protest. We live in a free society. We believe in freedom, the right to protest,” he added, before explaining that he was offended by protestors carrying upside-down Canadian flags.

“Don’t be flying our Canadian flag upside down,” Ford scolded. “That means everything to the people of Canada and our men and women on the front lines.”

Here are photos from last week’s protest:


10:30 am Ontario reports 511 new COVID-19 cases and 55 deaths

Ontario’s new confirmed COVID-19 cases has gone up by 511 – or 3.1 per cent – since the previous day’s report, bringing the provincial total to 17,119.

The number of people who have died has gone up by 55 to 1,176 – an increase of 6.9 per cent since yesterday. Of those deaths, 37 were residents or patients of long-term care homes.

There are now 205 outbreaks reported in long-term care homes, an increase of seven from the previous report.

There are 11,390 resolved cases – around two-thirds of overall cases – and 977 people are in hospital, with 221 in intensive care and 154 in intensive care on ventilators.

In terms of testing, there were 16,305 tests carried out since the previous day and 12,829 cases are under investigation.


9:30 am Toronto fast tracks summer road construction while streets are quiet

With traffic volumes down 45 to 66 per cent due to the pandemic, the city is fast-tracking summer construction to get as many road repair and summer maintenance projects done while the streets are quiet.

During April, staff fixed more than 12,000 potholes and the pothole blitzes will continue this today, with 48 crews and 146 people repairing potholes across Toronto. 

During a news conference on Friday, Mayor John Tory said the city is taking “a bold and aggressive approach” to road construction. Projects to repair roads, replace water mains and TTC tracks at Bathurst and Front, Church and Richmond, the Don Mills Bridge and Bathurst and Queen West are among those to be accelerated.

In all, there will be construction on more than 550 streets, including resurfacing 147 local roads, and upgrading sewers on more than 100 streets to protect basements from flooding.

The city will also make streets more pedestrian-and- cyclist-friendly by fast-tracking 10-year capital plans for vision zero and cycling infrastructure that will make it easier to practice physical distancing.

“Our streets are going to look different in the post-COVID world,” Tory said.


9 am Canada has over 55,000 cases of COVID-19

There are 55,061 cases of COVID-19 in Canada and 3,391 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.

@nowtoronto

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