KEY UPDATES
FEDERAL
Prime Minister Trudeau acknowledged Minister Gould’s announcement that CanSino Biologics Inc. will advance bioprocessing and clinical development in Canada of a candidate vaccine against COVID-19
· Announced $2.5 billion in funding to support seniors; this includes:
o A one-time tax-free payment of $300 for seniors eligible for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension, with an additional $200 for seniors eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS); this measure would give a total of $500 to individuals who are eligible to receive both the OAS and the GIS, and will help them cover increased costs caused by COVID-19
o Expanding the New Horizons for Seniors Program with an additional investment of $20 million to support organizations that offer community-based projects that reduce isolation, improve the quality of life of seniors and help them maintain a social support network
o Temporarily extending GIS and Allowance payments if seniors’ 2019 income information has not been assessed; this will ensure the most vulnerable seniors continue to receive their benefits when they need them the most; to avoid an interruption in benefits, seniors are encouraged to submit their 2019 income information as soon as possible and no later than October 1, 2020
· Today’s funding announcement builds on the federal government’s prior investment of $1.3 billion in a one-time special payment through the Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit in April
o More than 4 million seniors benefited from this top-up, which gave an average of $375 for single seniors and $510 for senior couples
· Reiterated we must take care of the ones who built this country (our elders)
PROVINCIAL
Premier Ford began his daily news conference by discussing the declaration of the emergency order – which the government is looking to extend until June 2; there was a debate this afternoon on the motion
· Talking to business owners and job creators; their input is helping to inform next steps of re-opening the province to ensure they can succeed in new environment, acknowledged the creation of over 80 workplace safety guidelines for staff and customers
· Indicated they are building the foundation for the cautious re-opening of the province
· Acknowledged more details on phase one of re-opening the province to come on Thursday for low-risk business, seasonal businesses and essential services
YORK REGION
· Today is the first Provincial Day of Action on Litter in Ontario
· To spotlight the important work nurses do in our health care system, the federal government is asking Canadians to shine a light in their windows tonight #NationalNursingWeek
· York Region launched a new video about what happens at Assessment Centres; the video can be viewed on the Region’s Facebook and Twitter pages
· Southlake Regional Health Centre was recently featured on CTV’s W5; the investigative report detailed the intense and emotional day-to-day experiences inside the coronavirus ICU
· In advance of the long weekend, York Region reminds residents about fireworks safety
· Food Bank of York Region’s food for youth program gets $30K boost
In York Region as of May 12, at 5 p.m. there are:
1,909 confirmed cases 4 new cases* since yesterday83 confirmed cases in hospital, 18 of which are in Intensive Care247 cases among health care workers, of which 131 cases have resolved (53%) *4 new fatalities
· 139 total confirmed deaths
920 resolved cases, which equals about 48%
· 33 institutional outbreaks under COVID-19 protocols:
o 18 Long-Term Care/Retirement Homes
o 14 Community Care Settings
o 1 Hospital
· 18 institutional outbreaks declared over
*Data quality is an ongoing process and may result in the more/less cases reported on a day-over-day basis or other changes to how cases are classified (e.g., municipality, acquisition, etc.). These data quality activities have also resulted in the re-categorization of individuals. Data quality activities do not increase or decrease total case counts.
The comprehensive list of outbreaks (including the number of resident and health care worker positive cases) is available on york.ca/covid19 The data can be filtered by municipality.
To access this list, select the blue drop-down menu titled Interactive Dashboard – Outbreaks in Long-Term Care and Community Care Settings
As of this morning, there are:
· 20,907 total cases (15,391 resolved); with 1,725 related deaths in Ontario
· 70,342 total cases (1,186 increase in last 24 hours); with 5,049 related deaths in Canada
· Over 4 million total cases worldwide with cases in 215 countries, areas or territories; 283,271 related deaths