From the Ontario government extending the province’s emergency orders, to Guelph’s new outdoor dining district, here is what we saw in the news this week.
Extension of emergency orders
Ontario has extended its current emergency orders to July 22.
This extension was set up in order to continue efforts in protecting the public’s health and safety while the Ontario government attempts to set up new emergency legislation, called the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, which would expire a year after it’s passed.
“This legislation will not allow us to create any new emergency orders, they can only be amended or removed,” said Premier Doug Ford, during Tuesday’s COVID-19 briefing.
Orders that can be amended include those governing workplace rules and staff redeployment, the safe operation or closure of businesses, public health order compliance, and social gathering limits.
Ford is also planning on introducing a COVID-19 recovery plan, the COVID-19 Recovery Act. In its current form, the act changes up to 20 laws, including ending suspensions for children in junior kindergarten to Grade 3.
Face coverings become mandatory in most of the GTA
With more and more regions in Ontario requiring the mandatory use of facial coverings and masks in indoor spaces, the GTA has begun following suit.
Toronto put a bylaw into effect on Tuesday for the use of mandatory masks in indoor public spaces. Today, Durham Region and Peel Region will both see mask bylaws come into effect.
Mayor Bonnie Crombie of Mississauga told CP24 that she is, “very pleased that there will be a coordinated approach, and people will understand if they’re going inside, whether it’s a retail establishment, an indoor mall, any indoor common area that a face covering will be required.”
Other cities in the province are expected to implement bylaws in the coming days, such as those in York Region.
Fines for breaking the bylaw vary depending on the city. In Toronto, fines of $1000 per offence will be issued.
Public Health looks at potential scenarios for second wave of COVID-19
The Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) Unit is preparing for a potential second wave of COVID-19, and has outlined scenarios for what the wave could look like.
“The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the WDG community when the first wave struck this winter,” said Dr. Matthew Tenenbaum, associate medical officer of health, in a report.
“Though case counts are currently declining in WDG and across Ontario, a second wave of illness is a very real possibility. WDGPH and partners across the health system must prepare for this possibility in order to ensure the community is kept safe.”
The report goes on to list three potential future scenarios in which the virus could spread, including when the waves may occur, if at all, and how big they may be.
Scenario one would see smaller waves happening over the next one or two years; scenario two, which is considered most concerning, would see a big wave happen in fall or winter 2020; and scenario 3 would see ongoing transmission with no distinct wave pattern.
U.S. withdraws from WHO
Amidst a rising number of coronavirus cases across the United States, the Trump administration has begun the process of pulling out of the World Health Organization (WHO), CNN reports.
July 2021 would see the withdrawal come into effect.
“Congress received notification that POTUS officially withdrew the U.S. from the @WHO in the midst of a pandemic. To call Trump’s response to COVID chaotic & incoherent doesn’t do it justice. This won’t protect American lives or interests—it leaves Americans sick & America alone,” Sen. Robert Menendez, top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tweeted on Tuesday.
President Trump has stated in the past that he intended to halt funding to WHO, claiming their role in “mismanaging and covering up the spread of coronavirus.”
According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. currently has over three million confirmed cases of COVID-19, and over 133,000 people have died from the virus, to date.
Guelph’s outdoor dining district
With summer in full swing and restaurants now able to open for outdoor patio business, Guelph has allowed for the expansion of select restaurant patios into the street.
Guelph’s ‘dining district’ opened this past weekend in the downtown area, and it saw hundreds of people going outside to enjoy patio time on streets such as Macdonell and Wyndham, which were partially closed to traffic to offer more dining space.
Although applauding the idea, Mayor Cam Guthrie wanted to remind diners to socially distance and wear masks when not dining at the table.
“As I’m trying to promote the dining districts, at the same time I equally want to promote the health and safety of those working to make the dining districts a success,” Guthrie told the Mercury Tribune.
Mayor Guthrie told CBC that he hopes this ‘pilot project’ will eventually be adopted by other cities after a provincial emergency order was passed to waive bylaws in favour of businesses making use of outdoor space and bringing back their patrons.
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