COVID-19 Government and International Response: July 15, 2020

WHAT TO KNOW

Global COVID-19 cases have reached 13,299,163, up from 12,888,021 at 3:30 p.m. Monday. Canada now reports 108,486 cases, up from 107,590 cases of COVID-19 on Monday. Ontario reports 37,052 cases, up from 36,839 cases on Monday.

The growth rate of new cases in the province is still under 1%, with 102 (0.3%) new cases reported since yesterday – the lowest number of new cases since March 25. Of the province’s total cases, 32,920 have been resolved (88.8%) and there have been 2,732 deaths (7.4%). The province has now completed 1,752,828 tests and reports 22,029 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

Following a conversation between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Donald Trump on Monday, the Government of Canada announced another 30-day extension of the Canada-U.S. border closure taking it into August. More information here.

PROVINCIAL

Today, the Ontario government announced a redesigned funding model that will lead to the building of additional, modern long-term care homes. This new approach aims to break down historic barriers and accelerate the construction of urgently needed long-term care projects, and new and redeveloped beds. Over the next five years, the government is investing $1.75 billion in long-term care homes. It is also updating design standards to include air conditioning for any new and renovated homes, beginning immediately. More information here.

TORONTO

Yesterday, the City of Toronto released an update on the financial impacts of COVID-19. The report notes that the City anticipates a financial impact of $1.9 billion by the end of 2020, prior to any offsets through mitigation strategies, including spending and workforce restraints. With these mitigation strategies in place, the City projects a reduced total year-end shortfall of $1.35 billion. Mitigation strategies include $513.7 million in anticipated cost savings from a combination of workforce restraints, spending constraints and cost avoidance, including emergency layoffs, decreased TTC operating costs and matching service capacity to demand. More information here.

Jan De Silva was interviewed by CityNews about what this could mean for restarting the city’s economy. More information here.

On July 13, the City launched DriveInTO which will allow for temporary drive-in entertainment experiences across Toronto this summer. From films to concerts to sports broadcasts, drive-in entertainment will offer an opportunity for Torontonians to re-engage with their city. The City has partnered with local film festivals to provide free programming to the public at Ontario Place and CityView Drive-In at 20 Polson Pier this summer. More information here.

INTERNATIONAL