A summary of the day's activities of Tuesday, August 11, follows. 

Federal Government Relief Measures

Earlier this month Prime Minister Justine Trudeau announced that Canadians receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) will soon be transferred to the Employment Insurance (EI) system.

On Monday, August 10, Employment and Social Development Canada announced that the Government of Canada will temporarily set a minimum unemployment rate for the Employment Insurance program.

Employment and Social Development Canada advise that since the program was launched, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) has been an important income support for over 8.5 million Canadians and their families. As the country continues to gradually and safely restart the economy, not all sectors will re-open at the same pace. As a result the Government is preparing to transition as many Canadians as possible back onto the Employment Insurance (EI) system at the end of month.

Today, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, announced that effective August 9, a minimum unemployment rate of 13.1% will be applied temporarily for all EI economic regions across Canada.

In taking this action, the Government is recognizing that the pandemic continues to make labour market conditions uncertain and unpredictable across the country. When individuals begin transitioning from the CERB to EI regular benefits at the end of this month, those living in EI regions with an unemployment rate lower than 13.1% will have their EI benefits calculated on the basis of the 13.1% rate, while individuals living in regions with a higher unemployment rate will have their benefits calculated using the actual rate for that region.

This temporary measure will establish minimum entry requirements for EI eligibility across the country for Canadians to access the income support they need now or might need later as the country continues to deal with the economic impacts of COVID-19.

The Minister explained this is the first in a series of steps to be announced in the coming weeks to help eligible Canadians transition from emergency income measures to the EI system and into the labour force.

Statement of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Prime Minister Trudeau did not hold a press conference today.

Federal Government Briefing

  • Dr. Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada
  • Dr. Howard Njoo, Deputy chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada

Dr. Tam provided her daily COVID-19 update. There were 120,132 cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including 8,987 deaths. Eighty-eight percent of the people have now recovered. Labs across Canada have tested 4,500,000 people for COVID-19 to date. Over the past week, an average of 43,000 people were tested daily, with 1 percent testing positive. Based on the most recent seven day, an average of 443 cases were being reported daily from across the country.

Dr. Tam and Dr. Njoo press conference affirmed that today's press conference will focus on immunization, as this is a sensitive topic for many Canadians and since Russia announced today that it has developed and effective vaccine against COVID-19.

To begin, Dr. Tam and Dr. Njoo affirmed that vaccination is one of the top public health achievements of all time. Vaccination allows for efficient and effective prevention of serious diseases and infections. Two to three million people worldwide survive thanks to vaccines. Never in history, have countries worked so quickly to produce a vaccine that will save lives. Getting this done in a record time is no easy feat as we need to make sure any vaccine demonstrates the highest level of safety and effectiveness. There are many steps and partners, across research, government and industry require to produce and deliver a safe and effective vaccine. All steps and partners are crucial. There are no shortcuts. Instead, "fast tracking" means "all hands on deck" to increase collaboration, tighten partnership and to prepare and run as many steps as possible.

According to Dr. Tam, the success of the vaccine will depend on the willingness of Canadians to receive the vaccine and create community immunity. Currently, several COVID-19 vaccines have reached Phase 3 clinical trials. Phases 1 and 2 trials have shown that a group of people react quickly to the virus and stimulate an immune system. Tens of thousands of Canadians are participating in Phase 3 to develop an effective vaccine to prevent the disease.

Commenting on the effectiveness of the Russian vaccine, Dr. Tam noted that Canada is going to analyze all data from Phases 1 to 3 trials before approving a vaccine. Dr. Tam does not want to comment on the approval process in Russia. Dr. Tam affirmed that the most important aspect during trials is the "quality process", and to be able to achieve this objective we need to collect data.

Commenting on the same subject, Dr. Njoo noted that Canada is one of the top countries with reliable regulation on vaccines. Dr. Njoo affirmed that we need these regulations to give Canadians a good level of confidence. To conclude, Dr. Njoo said international collaboration with other countries and agencies is the way to make sure an effective vaccine is available for everyone.

Statement of Ontario Premier Doug Ford

At a news conference in Toronto, Premier Doug Ford provided an update on his government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was joined by Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, Ontario's Minister of Long-term Care, John Tory, the Mayor of Toronto, and Barbara Collins, the President and CEO of Humber River Hospital.

Premier Ford stated that every senior deserves a safe and comfortable place to call home. As of now, Toronto has the longest wait time before occupying a long-term care facility.

The Ontario government announces that a new long-term care home will be built at Humber River Hospital's Finch site in the coming months. Working with Humber River Hospital and Infrastructure Ontario, the government announced that 320 new long-term care beds will be built at this site by the end of next year to be occupied as early of 2021. These 320 long-term care beds in Toronto are in addition to the nearly 8,000 new beds announced on July 15, 2020 through the province's modernized funding model. In addition, the government is investing $1.75 billion in long-term care homes over the next five years.

Pertaining to Education, the Premier reiterated that it received advice from the best medical doctors before releasing their back-to-school plan and is doing everything possible to ensure a safe return to school.

Also, Premier Doug Ford declares that 2 million dollars will be donated to the Red Cross in order to help those affected by the explosion in Beirut.

Statement of Quebec

There were no statements from Quebec.

Elsewhere in Canada

Alberta

On August 10, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health announced 257 new cases of COVID-19 from August 7-10. Currently, 66 people are in hospital, including 14 in intensive care. Dr. Hinshaw also confirmed two cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the BrightPath Richmond child care centre in Calgary. Dr. Hinshaw assured Albertans that anyone at risk of contracting the virus are being contacted. Dr. Hinshaw also provided answers to common questions from Alberta. Dr. Hinshaw advised Albertans to consider restricting their cohorts once children return to school, and re-assessing once the routines of school have been established. Dr. Hinshaw also advised Albertans that there are no documented cases of transmission through breast milk or breastfeeding to date.

Dr. Hinshaw and Alberta Health Services are looking to the private sector to double its testing capacity and handle asymptomatic testing ahead of September. Dr. Hinshaw said that ahead of September the province is looking at improving testing availability and turnaround in the coming months. Currently, it takes around 2 days to receive your testing results.

British Columbia

On August 10, Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's Provincial Health Officer, announced 131 new cases of COVID-19 from August 7-10. Currently, nine individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, three of whom are in intensive care. There have been two new health-care facility outbreaks at New Vista Care Home and at George Derby Centre in the Fraser Health region. In total, seven long-term care or assisted living facilities and one acute care facility have active outbreaks. There are no new community outbreaks. Current community public exposure in the Vancouver area include Pierre's Champagne Lounge from July 31 to August 7; West Oak Restaurant from July 31 to August 7; PumpJack Pub from July 31 to August 2; and Lions Bay Beach Park on July 26, 27, 29, 30, and 31.

The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction announced that Discovery Community College will receiver $150,000 from WorkBC's Community and Employer Partnerships Project Based Labour Market Training to connect people with health-care careers. The grant will provide classroom training and on-the-job work experience to program participants. The program prioritizes participants such as Indigenous peoples, immigrants, youth, multi-barriered and survivors of violence and/or abuse. Once their training and work experience is complete, participants will receive two weeks of employment support to prepare them to work as community support or mental health care workers in the Campbell River area.

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Glad to discuss these issues with you.

Originally published 12 August, 2020

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