A Summary of the day's activities of Friday, August 14 follows.

Federal Government Relief Measures

There were no new funding announcements today.

Statement of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Prime Minister Trudeau did not hold a press conference today.

Statement from Transport Canada

Today, Minister of Transport Marc Garneau, announced Canada's Flight Plan for Navigating COVID-19, which is the foundation for Canada's current and future efforts to reduce the public health risks of COVID-19 while travelling by aircraft.

This action plan puts in place a multi-layered system of safety measures to support public health by protecting air travellers and air industry workers from COVID-19. The Government of Canada has worked with public health authorities, counterparts around the world, and industry partners to develop a plan for COVID safety in air travel that is aligned to emerging global safety standards and best practices.

Key changes apply to all aspects of air travel, including in airports and aircraft. They include travel restrictions; mandatory use of face masks for passengers and crew; mandatory health checks by air carriers prior to passenger boarding; temperature screening at the busiest Canadian airports and at points of origin for all incoming flights to Canada; restricted services and passenger movement during flights; and enhanced cleaning and sanitation protocols and practices.

In airports, these designs and measures include enhanced air conditioning and filtration systems; frequent cleaning of high-touch areas; new touchless technologies to scan boarding passes; and physical distancing measures. Modern passenger aircrafts also offer an environment with design characteristics that reduce the risk of viral transmission.

Federal Government Briefing

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

Dr. Tam provided her daily COVID-19 update. There have been 121,234 cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including 9,019 deaths. Eighty-nine percent of people have now recovered. Labs across Canada have tested 4,635,000 people for COVID-19 to date. Over the past week, an average of 43,000 people were tested daily, with one percent testing positive and an average of 375 new cases reported daily from across the country. Over the last several weeks national daily case counts are averaging between 350 to 500 cases.

Dr. Tam presented new national modelling projections on the coronavirus. Except for Nunavut, every province and territory nationwide has declared cases of COVID-19. Research demonstrates that overcrowded cities are the ones that are more affected by the pandemic.

The evolution of new cases demonstrates the decline of COVID-19 since the peak in April. Recent outbreaks in July are community transmission in the Atlantic region. Dr. Tam affirmed this outbreak tells us to remain vigilant and follow the public health guideline, such as physical distancing, hand-washing and limiting mass gatherings.

National modelling projections released show an expected peak in cases this fall, followed by ongoing ups and downs, which Dr. Tam says could overwhelm health systems in different parts of the country. As a result, health officials across Canada are now getting ready for outbreaks that could surpass the highest spikes of the virus experienced in March and April, to ensure they are ready for the worst circumstances.

As businesses and schools reopen and more people return to the workplace, Dr. Tam stressed that Canadians must be vigilant in following public health guidelines to avoid a major rebound. To conclude, Dr. Tam said the actions Canadians take now will determine how transmissions unfold in the fall.

Dr. Njoo affirms that while Canada has been successful at slowing the spread of COVID-19, there could be a resurgence if Canadians do not strictly follow public health guidelines.

Statement of Ontario Premier Doug Ford

In today's news conference at Queen's Park, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Tourism Minister Lisa MacLeod and Education Minister Stephen Lecce provided an update on the government's response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

On the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and health experts, the government will allow gyms and other recreational facilities to increase their capacity limits up to 50 people per room as of August 15th as long as physical distancing measures are in place and respected.

Also, 8 million dollars will be invested in the Ontario Amateur Sport Fund to support with the health and well-being of the population.

Pertaining to education, the Education Minister said that flexibility is given to schools in order for them to organize their reopening of their facilities in September. Latitude is also provided to help them with the recruitment of more educators and the configuration of more spacing. The Minister of Education announced earlier this week that the government will be providing more than half a billion dollars in supports to school boards to ensure schools across the province will reopen safely in September, and to protect students and staff. This support will enable school boards to provide more physical distancing in classrooms and direct funding to utilize non-school community spaces. 

Statement of Quebec

Premier François Legault was accompanied by Mr. Denis Lamothe, Member of Parliament for Ungava, during today's press conference in Chibougamau.

In preparation for a possible second wave of COVID-19, the Premier met with representatives of the region's various health networks. The discussion focused on increasing the number of tests in various communities, such as Cree and Inuit communities. The Premier said he wishes to set up an air transportation system that will enable patients to be transported more quickly to hospital centers elsewhere in Quebec.

When asked about Quebec's ability to perform daily tests, the Premier stated that the health care system can perform more than 20,000 daily tests. The challenge, according to him, is to convince the population to undergo screening tests. He pointed out that waiting times are now shorter.

In conclusion, Premier Legault commented on the aluminum tax imposed by the United States. Mr. Legault asked Prime Minister Trudeau to immediately respond to the American announcement by imposing a tax on certain American products. Premier Legault commented that it is unacceptable that the United States does not respect the recently signed agreement between the three countries of North America. 

Elsewhere in Canada

Alberta

On August 13, Alberta announced 76 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths.

Leela Sharon Aheer, Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women announced that Alberta's government is reopening the Community Initiatives Program Project-Based grant stream to support economic recovery. Alberta's non-profit and community organizations can now apply to the September 15 intake of this grant stream.

Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry announced that the Irrigation Rehabilitation Program is providing $10 million in funding to the province's irrigation districts for infrastructure improvements as part of Alberta's Recovery Plan.

British Columbia

On August 13, Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's Provincial Health Officer, announced 78 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 4,274 cases in British Columbia.

There is one new community outbreak at the Okanagan Correctional Centre in the Interior Health region.

Harry Bains, Minister of Labour, stated that with only two weeks until the application deadline, employees and employers who need to extend temporary layoffs beyond the August 30, 2020 expiry date should apply for a variance using the Employment Standards Branch's new online application by August 25.

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