COVID-19 Government and International Response: July 17, 2020

WHAT TO KNOW

Global COVID-19 cases have reached 13,530,628, up from 13,299,163 at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Canada now reports 109,264 cases, up from 108,486 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Ontario reports 37,274 cases, up from 37,052 cases on Wednesday.

The growth rate of new cases in the province is still under 1%, with 111 (0.3%) new cases reported since yesterday. Of the province’s total cases, 33,162 have been resolved (89%) and there have been 2,746 deaths (7.4%). The province has now completed 1,810,483 tests and reports 24,781 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

Today, the Government of Canada announced proposed changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) that would broaden the reach of the program and provide better-targeted support so that more workers can return to their jobs quickly as the economy restarts. These proposed changes follow consultations with business and labour representatives on potential adjustments to the CEWS program aimed at ensuring that it continues to protect jobs and promote growth. More information here.

On July 16, Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau announced a federal investment of more than $19 billion to help provinces and territories safely restart their economies and make our country more resilient to possible future waves of the virus. This investment will support measures to increase testing and contact tracing of the virus, and support the capacity of our health care systems, including services for people facing mental health challenges. In addition, it includes actions to help Canadian workers during this challenging time, such as ensuring the availability of safe child care to help parents returning to work and providing income support for people who do not have paid sick leave so all Canadians can stay healthy. More information here.

PROVINCIAL

The Ontario government announced a made-in-Ontario Intellectual Property Action Plan to help ensure the tremendous social and economic benefits of taxpayer-funded research and innovation stays right here in the province. In addition, the government unveiled the second round of research projects approved and supported through the $20 million Ontario COVID-19 Rapid Research Fund. Through these efforts, researchers will be working to find ways to prevent, detect and treat COVID-19. More information here.

On July 16, the Ontario Government, extended most emergency orders currently in force under s.7.0.2 (4) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) until July 29, 2020. More information here.

The Ontario Government has released a new online tool that provides the people of Ontario and businesses with information about highway projects in their communities, including the status of projects that are already underway and major construction projects slated for the future. The new online tool is a modern, searchable and interactive publication that includes highway project information and locations, providing people and businesses with the latest updates on highway projects across Ontario. The online tool will also help the province’s construction industry stay informed about highway infrastructure investments. More information here.

TORONTO

Following today’s news conference, Mayor John Tory urged Torontonians to continue following COVID-19 precautions in this weekend’s expected heatwave, to avoid setbacks and delays in the City’s advancements to Stage 3. More information here.

INTERNATIONAL