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COVID-19: Ontario extends state of emergency until June 30, 'Sign, don't shout' Tam advises protesters

Ottawa Public Health reported seven new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and four new deaths.

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What you need to know, at a glance

  • Ontario government extended the provincial state of emergency until June 30
  • Premier says province continues to work ‘around the clock to move ahead with our economic reopening’
  • Province reports 446 new cases of COVID-19, the highest daily case total in the last week
  • Seventeen more deaths were also recorded in the last day, bringing death toll to 2,293
  • Ottawa’s Carlingview Manor has seen the third-highest number of resident deaths across the province, 58
  • Ontario patients’ ombudsman office launches investigation after receiving 150 complaints about LTC homes
  • OPH reported seven new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and four new deaths
  • Canada’s top public health official Dr. Theresa Tam advises protesters to keep COVID-19 in mind
  • Two more deaths in the Outaouais, for total of 20
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A Pembroke-based lighting manufacturer is receiving a portion of the $50-million Ontario Together Fund created to help businesses retool their operations to produce personal protective equipment, the province announced Tuesday.

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With nearly $60,000 from the Ontario government, SRB Technologies will convert some of its emergency lighting production to make face shields for use in hospitals and LTC homes.

“Our entrepreneurs and innovators are the best of the best,” said Premier Doug Ford at his Tuesday press conference.

“We’re proud to partner with these businesses to unleash the true power of the sector in our effort to beat this virus for good, and ensure that Ontario never again is at the mercy of any other country when it comes to personal protective equipment.”

The premier also gave a shoutout to Kanata’s Terlin Construction “a father and son duo in millwork and cabinetry (who) have figured out how to make plastic barriers for retail stores.”

The premier said that the province continues to work “tirelessly” on testing and contact tracing, noting that Ottawa-based Shopify is on board lending expertise to the tracing work.

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Ford was asked to comment on a small group of anti-shutdown protesters outside the Ontario legislature Tuesday, who also received a visit from Independent MPP Randy Hillier, who represents the Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston riding.

“It’s totally irresponsible,” said Ford. “Going against everything everyone’s been working for.”

“Randy Hillier – that’s unfortunate, I’m disappointed in Randy, he should know better.”

Ontario reported 446 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest daily case total in the last week.

That brings the provincial total to 28,709 cases.

Seventeen more deaths were also recorded in the last day, bringing Ontario’s COVID-19 death toll to 2,293.

According to the ministry of long-term care, the disease has claimed the lives of 1,652 long-term care residents and seven LTC staff. The total number of active outbreaks in homes has been declining, while deaths continue to mount in some of the hardest-hit facilities.

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Of the homes still in active outbreak mode, Ottawa’s Carlingview Manor has seen the third-highest number of resident deaths – 58. There are 303 beds in the home.

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The Ontario patient ombudsman’s office announced Tuesday that it is launching an investigation after it received 150 complaints about long-term care homes, coming a day after the provincial ombudsman announced a similar probe. The investigation will focus on staffing levels, visitation restrictions, infection control and communication, and unlike other investigations, the office said its investigation is specific to the experiences of caregivers and residents of long-term care homes.

Ontario: Total deaths from COVID-19

Ontario’s Ministry of Long-Term Care has appointed a Kitchener hospital to take over the management of the city’s Forest Heights LTC home for at least 90 days. This is the eighth LTC home in Ontario to see a provincially-directed management takeover since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Despite receiving hospital support for weeks, Forest Heights has been unable to contain the spread of COVID-19,” said the province, in a public statement. “The Ministry of Long-Term Care will continue to make decisions on which long-term care homes may require additional management support on a case-by-case basis.”

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Currently, 801 Ontarians are hospitalized with COVID-19, including 125 in ICU and 87 on ventilators.

Meanwhile, the Ontario government is expected to extend the provincial state of emergency until June 30 later Tuesday, allowing it to continuing enforcing associated emergency orders such as the ban on gatherings of more than five people and non-essential businesses closures. The government can, however, amend these orders if it wishes to lift or change any current restrictions.

“This does not mean that reopening is on hold – we are working around the clock to move ahead with our economic reopening,” said Premier Doug Ford, later suggesting that Stage Two of the provincial plan to reopen the economy could be a couple of weeks away “or maybe sooner.”

He also reminded Ontarians that health officials are working on a possible regional approach to lifting restrictions.

Ottawa

A group of several hundred health-care professionals, including physiotherapists, pharmacy technicians and sonographers, rallied outside The Ottawa Hospital Tuesday to protest what they see as the unequal application of the province’s pandemic pay initiative.

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https://www.dropbox.com/s/0t9hgf1ko9dj099/0603_covid-19_ottawa_proof.jpg?dl=0

On Monday, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott was asked about the workers who interact with COVID-19 patients but continue to be left out by the pandemic pay eligibility criteria.“We did our very best to include all of the people working on the front lines of patients with COVID-19 in hospitals, long-term care homes and home and community care,” said Elliott. “If we missed people, that wasn’t done deliberately. But a decision did need to be made, because the pandemic pay needs to get out to people.”The money is expected to start flowing to workers within the next week, according to Elliott. It will be retroactive to April 24 and last until Aug. 13.

Ottawa Public Health reported seven new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and four new deaths. This brings the total to 1,969 laboratory-confirmed cases and 248 deaths.

OPH also said 39 Ottawa patients with COVID-19 are in hospital, and there are 18 ongoing outbreaks of the virus in local long-term care and retirement homes, hospitals and the Shepherds of Good Hope shelter.

Ottawa: Total deaths from COVID-19

National

Canada’s top public health official Dr. Theresa Tam took to Twitter Monday to offer her advice to those considering attending a protest – there have been many across the country in recent days in response to the death of George Floyd and other racialized people at the hands of police, as well as others related to working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“When it comes to peaceful protest during COVID-19, virtual protest is the safest bet,” said Tam. For those who can’t protest virtually, “check local public health guidance on safe gathering size,” bring hand sanitizer and wear a mask when you can’t keep a two-metre distance from others, she advised.

“Sign don’t shout – even with layers of protection, speaking loudly, shouting and singing can increase projection of infectious droplets.”

The Canada Revenue Agency is opening up its snitch line to tips about fraud in COVID-19 federal aid programs amid reports of illicit applications and double dipping.

In an update to its website Monday, Canada Revenue Agency says its National Leads Program — a.k.a. its snitch line — is now accepting information regarding the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS).

As of 11 a.m., there were 92,140 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Canada. There have been 7,344 deaths.

Quebec and Eastern Ontario

Premier François Legault Tuesday repeated his appeal for to recruit 10,000 Quebecers to work as orderlies in the province’s troubled LTC network.

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“I’m asking all Quebecers from the bottom of my heart … to show their compassion in this matter,” the premier told his daily news conference.

Volunteers will be paid $760 a week during training leading to permanent full-time jobs paying about $49,000 annually.

“If I only manage to solve the CHLSD crisis in my mandate … I will be satisfied that I accomplished a major achievement,” the premier said.

The province is particularly concerned about a potential “second wave” of COVID-19 infection.

Quebec reported 239 new cases Tuesday for a total of 51,593. There were 52 new deaths for a total of 4,713.

There were two more deaths in the Outaouais, bringing the total to 20, and just two new cases, for a total of 539 in the region.

In eastern Ontario, the Leeds, Grenville & Lanark Public Health Unit is reporting 348 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday, while the Eastern Ontario Health Unit is reporting 149 and the Renfrew County and District Health Unit is reporting 27.

-With files from Postmedia and The Canadian Press

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