COVID-19: Ontario releases workplace guidance for how to reopen; 86 more deaths reported
Taylor Blewett
1 hour ago
© Wayne Cuddington
A nurse demonstrates to others how to wear a face mask.
The
Ontario government issued guidance Thursday for workplaces and
businesses on how to safely reopen when the time comes – and it
might not be that far off.
On
its website
, the province has published COVID-19 guidance notes and posters
for the construction, food processing, restaurant, food services,
agriculture, manufacturing and long-term care sectors, with more to
come.
Ontario’s
health and safety associations have also developed detailed
guidance documents
for workers and employers in a large swath of sectors –
health and safety advice for curbside pick-up and delivery, best
practices for sharing tools, and more.
“We
have many reasons to be optimistic right now … We have thrown
everything we have at this virus, and because of that – because
of you – we have made tremendous progress,” said Premier Doug
Ford.
Remember 'The Human Barbie'? Well, You Should See Her Now
“Today, we’re on the path to reopening the economy, because that curve is flattening, that surge in our hospitals – we avoided it – and that trend is going down.”
“I
am laser-focused right now on opening things up as quickly as we
can in a safe and measured way.”
More
advice is forthcoming for additional sectors of the economy, said
Ford. “These guidelines will help Ontario businesses adapt to the
new reality we face, and keep workers and customers safe.”
Minister
of Labour Monte McNaughton also announced an additional 58 people
will join the province’s labour inspectors, who will focus on
communicating COVID-19 safety guidelines to essential workplaces,
as well as enforcing emergency measures such as physical distancing
on job sites and closing non-essential businesses.
McNaughton
warned inspectors could issue $750 fines if a business is found in
non-compliance.
Ford
spoke directly to auto insurance companies at his Thursday press
conference, when asked about those who haven’t or have barely
offered any rebates to clients, despite the ability to do so.
“Lower
your rates – people aren’t driving as much … but you keep
taking their cheques,” he said.
Ford
also said “good news is coming very, very, very shortly” when
it comes to reopening garden centres in Ontario.
When
it comes to the resumption of elective surgeries, Health Minister
Christine Elliott said Thursday the government is putting a process
in place to restart these “as soon as possible,” noting cancer
and cardiac surgeries will likely be prioritized, as well as
orthopaedic surgeries.
“We
expect to have more to report to you early next week on this
issue,” said Elliott.
Ontario
reported 459 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, an increase in new
cases from the three-week low reported Wednesday, but below the
rate of daily case growth seen in recent weeks during what
provincial health officials described as the outbreak’s peak in
Ontario.
Elliott
confirmed the province is starting to see a downward trend in case
numbers. “There was a bit of a bump today, but we can expect
that. As time goes on, the most important thing is that we are
headed in the right direction.”
Meanwhile,
the virus continues to infect long-term care homes across the
province. An additional nine LTC homes reported outbreaks of
COVID-19 in the last day, bringing the total number of outbreaks to
190 (some of these are now resolved).
Overall,
the provincial COVID-19 death toll jumped by 86 on Thursday,
bringing the total to 1,082 dead since the beginning of the
pandemic. While hospitalizations rose – 999 COVID-19 patients
were in hospital as of Thursday, compared to 977 the day before –
the numbers of patients in ICU and on ventilators were down
slightly, to 233 and 181, respectively.
Related
The
number of COVID-19 tests completed in the previous day also rose to
nearly 13,000, from 11,554 Wednesday. But it’s still below the
goal of 14,000 daily tests by April 29 that the provincial ministry
of health set for itself weeks ago.
“They
fell short, just by 1,000 yesterday – believe me, I was all over
it this morning. They absolutely promised it’s going to be over
14,000 tomorrow and moving forward,” said Ford. “We want to
continue to expand these tests to our absolute maximum.”
Of
all 16,187 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Ontario, 63 per cent are now
resolved.
Meanwhile,
Ontario high school students won’t
have final exams
this year, this newspaper reported Wednesday. The Ministry of
Education issued a memo on the subject Tuesday.
“In
order to maximize instructional time for students during this
unprecedented time, Minister Lecce has directed that all remaining
professional activity days and examination days for the 2019-2020
school year are to be used for instruction,” said the April 28
memo sent to school boards by Lecce and Education Deputy Minister
Nancy Naylor.
Local
Mayor
Jim Watson has told the city to work with Ottawa Public Health and
figure out a way to reinstate family window visits at municipal
long-term care homes.
“I
have asked that a plan be in place by May 7 that will ensure
residents and visitors respect the physical distancing rules at the
same time,” Watson said in a post on Twitter around noon on
Thursday.
The
City of Ottawa’s top public health official says the municipal
government didn’t
check with her
before implementing a ban on window visits at city-run long-term
care homes.
“Looking
through a window is not a threat. It can be an important source of
reassurance for family members on both sides of the glass,” Vera
Etches, Ottawa Public Health’s medical officer of health, said
Thursday morning during an interview on CTV Morning Live. “Ottawa
Public Health wasn’t consulted or advised before the city decided
to issue this directive and I’m sure that they are re-examining
it.”
The
city, which runs four long-term care homes, asked
families this week to stop visiting loved ones at the windows
to ensure physical distancing rules are respected.
Premier
Doug Ford called the ban “ridiculous.”
“I
don’t know who’s come up with this ridiculous idea but they
need to rethink it,” he said Thursday. “Put yourself in their
shoes. When our family goes to visit my mother-in-law, I think,
thank God she’s on the first floor.
“Go
visit your loved ones, as far as I’m concerned. And hopefully
that won’t be the last time you see them,” he said.
There
have been 76 deaths and 1,297 confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded
in Ottawa since the beginning of the pandemic, including 76 new
cases announced Wednesday and five new deaths. All five deaths were
long-term care residents, according to Etches.
In
a statement, she noted that “Over the last few days, we have been
seeing these larger increases in the number of cases than previous
weeks. We anticipated this increase as more people
are eligible for testing and therefore getting tested and
due to the surveillance exercise that took place last
weekend in which all staff and residents
of nine long-term care homes were tested.”
OPH
advised residents not to expect the usual daily report on details
of COVID-19 cases in Ottawa on Thursday because they’re
transitioning to a new case management and reporting system. The
report will be back online Friday, and will include Thursday’s
data.
On
Saturday, the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre on Walkley Road will
open as a temporary
self-isolation centre
and emergency shelter for single homeless men, easing some of the
load on the city’s already overflowing shelters.
In
eastern Ontario, the Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health
Unit reported 314 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday, while
the Eastern Ontario Health Unit reported 91, and the Renfrew County
and District Health Unit reported 15.
National
Canada’s
chief public health officer said “things have been a little flat”
this week on the COVID-19 epidemic curve, and acknowledges it is
making everyone excited about when we are going to be able to get
out of our houses.
Dr.
Theresa Tam cautions that there are still significant challenges in
some settings, including long-term care homes.
There
have been 51,587 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 2,996 deaths
reported across Canada, according to federal government statistics
updated Wednesday night.
Generally,
statistics for official diagnoses should be viewed with caution.
Testing does not track down all cases in a community because the
mild symptoms most people have aren’t distinguishable from common
colds, and because public health can’t test large numbers of
people.
Quebec
Quebec
has 27,538 cases of COVID-19, an increase of 994 from yesterday,
Premier François Legault said in his briefing this afternoon.
The
death toll is now 1,859, an increase of 98. On additional case was
reported in the Outaouais, for a total of 274, while the number of
deaths in the region (which includes Gatineau) remains at three.
—
With files
from Postmedia and The Canadian Press
No comments:
Post a Comment