Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Tuesday the Canadian and U.S. governments have agreed to extend for another 30 days, to July 21, the closure of the Canada-U.S. border to non-essential travel due to fears of COVID-19 spread.
Trudeau also announced the federal government will be extending eligibility for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) by eight weeks ($2,000 a month) for those receiving it, to help those still suffering from unemployment due to the COVID-19 shutdown.
Trudeau said “there are three million people out there who want to work but cannot. The economy is slowly starting to reopen and many people would like to work but they simply will not be able to do so...even as our economy is reopening there are many, many more people out of work, willing to work, than there are jobs available and that’ll be the story for the coming weeks as well (hence the extension of CERB).”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford was accompanied at his daily COVID-19 briefing by Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton, who announced the provincial government will be releasing a COVID-19 workplace safety guidance document, as businesses gradually reopen, to allow employers to create their own safety plans for their specific workplaces (such as plexiglass, or restricting the number of workers in a space at any one time).
Public Health Ontario reports, for the fourth day out of the last five, there are less than 200 new cases of COVID-19 in the province.
However, there are 11 deaths reported, including one person between the ages of 40 and 59, three people between the ages of 60 and 79, and seven people over the age of 80.
The province has reported 2,538 deaths due to COVID-19 since March, including the deaths of 1,632 long-term care home residents.
There are currently 67 outbreaks at long term care homes in Ontario with 458 active cases confirmed in residents and 471 active cases confirmed in staff.
To date, the province has reported 32,554 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario, and indicates 27,431 cases are now considered recovered.
Locally, we reported the Algoma Residential Community Hospice (ARCH) is facing a $25,000 deficit due to a drop in donations from businesses and individuals affected by the COVID clampdown, the hospice appealing for community help.
We also reported the COVID-affected local tourism industry will be launching a tourism promotion ad campaign later this month, aimed at regional tourists, on community websites across Ontario owned by Sault-based Village Media
Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers from Algoma Public Health, updated at 8:30 a.m., June 16, 2020:
- 9,617 tested
- 23 positive
- 8,720 negative
- 874 pending
- 0 deceased
- 21 resolved
Total confirmed cases by area of residence:
- 18 in Sault Ste. Marie and area, with evidence of community spread
- 2 in central and east Algoma
- 3 in Elliot Lake and area
- 0 in north Algoma
