WHAT TO KNOW
Global COVID-19 cases have reached 4,407,158, up from 4,318,171 at 3:30 p.m. yesterday. Canada now reports 72,196 cases, up from 71,099 cases of COVID-19 yesterday. Ontario reports 21,236 cases, up from 20,907 cases yesterday.
The growth rate of new cases in the province continues to remain under 2%, with 329 (1.6%) new cases reported since yesterday. Of the province’s total cases, 15,845 have been resolved (74.6%) and there have been 1,765 deaths (8.3%). The province has now tested 475,058 individuals and reports 13,395 tests are currently under investigation. More information here.
A province-by-province breakdown of Canada’s COVID-19 case count can be found here.
FEDERAL
This morning, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages Mélanie Joly, announced that the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund will now accept applications from businesses and communities. It is specifically targeted toward those that may require additional help to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic but have been unable to access existing support measures. More information here.
For southern Ontario specifically, Minister Joly announced that the region’s businesses that are unable to access other existing measures can now apply for RRRF support through FedDev Ontario. As the Regional Development Agency for southern Ontario, FedDev Ontario will work with key partners such as the Community Futures Development Corporations across the region to help southern Ontario businesses during these difficult times. A total of $252.4 million will be available for southern Ontario businesses. More information here.
As part of the COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, the Government of Canada is providing direct support to students and recent graduates who face a different job market this summer. Today, Ministers Carla Qualtrough and Diane Lebouthillier announced that the application period for the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) will begin on Friday, May 15, 2020.
The CESB will be available from May to August 2020 to students who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, and who are enrolled in a post-secondary education program leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate; or who ended their studies no earlier than December 2019. It will also be available to Canadian students studying abroad, as well as high school graduates who will be starting a post-secondary program in the coming months. More information here and here.
PROVINCIAL
The Ontario government has adopted an emergency order allowing the province to issue a mandatory management order for a long-term care home struggling to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak. This order would support the use of rapid, immediate and effective management alternatives to protect residents and staff within a home. The manager could be any person, including a corporation or a hospital. More information here.
The Ontario government is working together with the province’s education sector to voluntarily place available employees in staffing roles needed at congregate care settings during the COVID-19 outbreak. This initiative is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to redeploy broader public sector workers to areas where they are needed most, such as hospitals, long-term care homes, retirement homes, women’s shelters, and homes serving those with developmental disabilities. More information here.
During his daily news briefing, Premier Ford said the timing wasn’t yet right to reopen the Canada/US border. “I want to keep it closed, and I made it very clear on the call with the premiers and prime minister, we need it closed.” More information here.
TORONTO
Mayor Tory told reporters yesterday that the City will be unable to extend its grace period for utilities and property taxes which would “simply magnify our already grave financial problems.” The grace period is set to end on Friday, May 15, so April payments are due on June 1. More information here.
Today, Mayor John Tory announced the City of Toronto is partnering with Toronto start up Ritual to provide local businesses with an easy way to accept digital orders online and onsite.
Ritual ONE provides restaurants and food services, such as grocers, butchers and bakeries with an easy way to accept digital orders from their own website and social media accounts. Onsite contactless digital ordering is also available. Customers will be able to choose between pickup and delivery. More information here.
Over the next couple weeks, the City of Toronto will begin construction on a number of key projects to renew and improve aging infrastructure. With traffic volumes on Toronto’s roads down between 45 and 65 per cent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City recently announced that construction is moving forward this year and work will be accelerated on as many important projects as possible. More information here.
INTERNATIONAL
| Country | Total cases at 3:30 p.m. | Total cases yesterday at 3:30 p.m. | Increase from previous | Cases per million | Total recovered | Total deaths |
| Global | 4,407,158 | 4,318,171 | 88,987 | 565 | 1,646,665 | 296,637 |
| United States | 1,423,382 | 1,396,153 | 27,229 | 4,300 | 306,298 | 84,739 |
| Spain | 271,095 | 269,520 | 1,575 | 5,798 | 183,227 | 27,104 |
| Russia | 242,271 | 232,243 | 10,028 | 1,660 | 48,003 | 2,212 |
| United Kingdom | 229,705 | 226,463 | 3,242 | 3,384 | — | 33,186 |
| Italy | 222,104 | 221,216 | 888 | 3,673 | 112,541 | 31,106 |
| Brazil | 180,737 | 172,790 | 7,947 | 850 | 72,597 | 12,635 |
| Germany | 173,919 | 172,978 | 941 | 2,076 | 148,700 | 7,819 |
| Iran | 112,725 | 110,767 | 1,958 | 1,342 | 89,428 | 6,783 |
| China | 82,926 | 82,919 | 7 | 58 | 78,189 | 4,633 |
| India | 78,055 | 74,243 | 3,812 | 57 | 26,400 | 2,551 |
| Peru | 76,306 | 72,059 | 4,247 | 2,314 | 24,324 | 2,169 |
| Canada | 72,196 | 71,099 | 1,097 | 1,913 | 34,916 | 5,301 |
| Chile | 34,381 | 31,721 | 2,660 | 1,799 | 14,865 | 346 |
| Australia | 6,980 | 6,964 | 16 | 274 | 6,271 | 98 |