COVID-19 Government and International Response: July 13, 2020

WHAT TO KNOW

Global COVID-19 cases have reached 12,888,021, up from 12,245,417 at 3:30 p.m. Friday. Canada now reports 107,590 cases, up from 106,805 cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Ontario reports 36,839 cases, up from 36,464 cases on Friday.

The growth rate of new cases in the province is still under 1%, with 116 (0.3%) new cases reported since yesterday. Of the province’s total cases, 32,663 have been resolved (88.7%) and there have been 2,722 deaths (7.4%). The province has now completed 1,712,315 tests and reports 7,837 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 Prime Minister Trudeau announced the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy will be extended until December. More information here.

Today, Prime Minister Trudeau spoke with US President Donald Trump. Among the issues discussed were the extension of the closure of the Canada/US border. “Every month we have been able to extend the border closures to all but essential goods and services and those discussions are ongoing with the United States right now as we are a week from the next deadline for closures,” said the Prime Minister during his morning news conference. More information here.

PROVINCIAL

Today, the Ontario Government announced nearly all businesses and public spaces will reopen in Stage 3 of the province’s reopening framework with public health and workplace safety measures and restrictions in place. However, the City of Toronto and other municipalities in the region are not included in the list of regions that are permitted to move into Stage 3 at this time. As part of the Stage 3 reopening, Ontario will be increasing gathering limits for those regions entering the next stage to the following:

• Indoor gathering limits will increase to a maximum of 50 people
• Outdoor gathering limits will increase to a maximum of 100 people
• Gathering limits are subject to physical distancing requirements

Several public health unit regions will be allowed to move into Stage 3 first, on Friday, July 17, 2020. More information here.

TORONTO

Yesterday, The City of Toronto launched a CaféTO installation and expansion blitz to rapidly increase outdoor dining space for local restaurants and bars during the COVID-19 pandemic. City staff accelerated the installation of verified CafeTO applications across multiple BIAs. An increase in the number of streetscape-based curb lane closures will be seen across the city and new installations will continue throughout the week. City staff continue to work with BIAs and the local business community to fast-track as many restaurant registrations and curb lane installations as possible; however, site-specific technical requirements may cause some delays. More information here.

INTERNATIONAL