COVID-19 Government and International Response: June 9, 2020

WHAT TO KNOW

Global COVID-19 cases have reached 7,275,409, up from 7,164,892 at 3:30 p.m. yesterday. Canada now reports 96,616 cases, up from 96,140 cases of COVID-19 yesterday. Ontario reports 31,090 cases, up from 30,860 cases yesterday.

The growth rate of new cases in the province is now under 1%, with 230 (0.7%) new cases reported since yesterday. Of the province’s total cases, 24,829 have been resolved (79.9%) and there have been 2,464 deaths (7.9%). The province has now completed 880,398 tests and reports 11,020 tests are currently under investigation. More information here.

The City of Toronto has shared a breakdown by postal code of all COVID-19 cases here.

A province-by-province breakdown of Canada’s COVID-19 case count can be found here.

FEDERAL

In reaction to a news report yesterday saying the federal government will punish those who are found to be defrauding the CERB program, Prime Minister Trudeau said today “we’ve put measures in place that will allow us to go after the deliberate fraudsters who are trying to game the system for criminal benefits.” The Prime Minister also said, the government would not go after individuals who made “honest mistakes”. More information here.

Today, the Government of Canada launched a new web hub to bring together available resources for organizations buying and selling personal protective equipment (PPE). As organizations re-open for business, they need reliable information on how to buy and sell the necessary supplies required to keep themselves and others safe.

The Supply Hub connects Canadian organizations from coast to coast to coast with federal, provincial, territorial and other resources and information about PPE, including consumer guidance. Buyers will find PPE supplier lists, in addition to guidance to help plan their PPE purchases. As Public Services and Procurement Canada continues to engage with our partners and advisory groups, the hub will evolve to include additional resources.  More information here.

PROVINCIAL

Today, the Ontario government announced its plan to reopen child care centres across the province to support the next stage of the province’s reopening framework. Developed in consultation with Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and medical leaders at The Hospital for Sick Children, the plan will require child care operators to follow strict health protocols to ensure the safety of child care staff and children. More information here.

TORONTO

To provide Torontonians more options to get around the city during the pandemic and post-pandemic recovery period, Mayor Tory announced the expansion of Bike Share Toronto which now brings bike sharing into 20 of Toronto’s 25 wards. The 2020 expansion will add a total of 1,850 new bicycles, 160 stations and 3,615 docking points to the already expansive network. After today’s announcement, the system will grow to a total of 6,850 bikes, 625 stations, 12,000 docking points. More information here.

INTERNATIONAL