Anxious Canadians await federal COVID-19 help as quarantine rules tighten
TORONTO — Canadians struggling to make ends meet amid the COVID-19 pandemic waited anxiously for promised federal help on Wednesday as the countrywide toll soared through the 3,000 mark and authorities began going after people violating public health orders.
Hundreds of new cases were reported, with 30 dead nationally. Quebec alone had 326 new cases and two more deaths, while Ontario reported 100 more cases — its largest single day jump.
To combat the spread, everyone arriving in Canada will have to be quarantined for 14 days or face arrest and fines, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said.
“This is about taking very practical steps to protect the health and safety of Canadians,” Freeland said.
Other jurisdictions have also been clamping down.
In Newfoundland, a 53-year-old woman was arrested this week in Corner Brook for allegedly violating provincial public health orders to self-isolate for 14 days, Const. James Cadigan with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said from St. John’s. She faced a fine of up to $2,500 or jail sentence of up to six months. Last week, police in Quebec City had arrested a woman they say was infected for allegedly defying orders to stay indoors.
With governments implementing stiff restrictions aimed at avoiding crushing an already stressed health-care system, an unprecedented number of people have seen layoffs and job losses over the past week. Close to one million new applications for employment insurance have been reported, much higher than average.
Financial markets did climb for a second day but remained far from where they were before the virus pushed them over a cliff.
The brutal jobs reality was apparent in a new poll: Close to half of those asked reported someone in their house had lost work because of the outbreak. More than half who said they had lost work said their employers were not compensating them and getting employment insurance had proven difficult.
To that end, a $107-billion bill, including $52 billion in cash support, passed in the early hours and won Senate approval Wednesday.
One measure will provide $2,000 per month for four months to workers whose income drops to zero because of the pandemic. The benefit should start getting to workers on April 6, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said.
Ontario introduced a $17-billion COVID-related package Wednesday. Measures include a one-time payment for parents of $200 per child 12 years old and under, doubling payments for lowincome seniors and suspending student loan payments for six months.
“COVID-19 is an extraordinary threat to the health and economy of Ontario — the greatest we’ve faced in my lifetime — and it demands an extraordinary response,” Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips said.
The federal government also said it would spend $50 million as part of a United Nations initiative to help the world’s most desperate people fight the pandemic.
“The world is connected,” International Development Minister Karina Gould told The Canadian Press. “Whatever happens over there, far away, is something that can very easily come to our doorstep.”
Almost 140,000 Canadians have now been tested for COVID-19, said Dr. Howard Njoo, deputy chief public health officer.
Some labs have reported a testing backlog due to diminishing supplies of essential chemicals. The World Health Organization says widespread testing is needed to curb the pandemic, but global demand has outpaced the supply of the specific chemicals needed.
Growing demand on health services prompted Ontario’s nurses to call for more medical equipment to deal with COVID-19.
“Health organizations, across all sectors, are reporting shortages of personal protective equipment — a situation governments must urgently address,” the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario said in a statement.
“The available ventilators, required to save lives during the pandemic — including the 300 additional ones Ontario has ordered — vastly underestimate the real need under a worst-case scenario,” it said.
Experts say the virus causes mild flu-like symptoms in most people but can lead to life-threatening pneumonia in others: particularly the elderly and those with less optimal health. Besides frequent hand-washing, the best defence is “social distancing” — avoiding contact with others.
To ensure as little inter-personal contact as possible, provincial and local governments have taken increasingly urgent steps to force people to stay home. Many nonessential businesses have shut down. Across the country, much of normal daily life has ground to a halt with gathering places closed.
Residential tenants and landlords have called on governments to offer relief before rent is due April 1. Some provinces have suspended rent hikes and halted evictions due to non-payment of rent.