Health unit urging mandatory sick pay for workers
The 20-29 age group has the most COVID-19 cases locally and some have kept working with symptoms
Some 20-somethings in Peterborough are reporting for work sick in the COVID-19 pandemic because they can’t afford to forego a day’s wages, medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra says, and that has her concerned.
People aged 20 to 29 account for 182 of the 588 cumulative cases of COVID-19 so far in the pandemic in the Peterborough area, she noted at a virtual press briefing Tuesday.
No other age group comes close to matching that: it’s by far the demographic where the most people are getting sick. It’s also the age group where the most people are working for low wages with no benefits such as sick pay, Salvaterra said — and she says it means some people in their 20s are having to work sick or not make rent.
“We know from interviewing these cases that many have
gone to work when sick because they felt they had no choice,” Salvaterra said.
That’s why the board of health voted at a meeting on Feb. 10 to lobby Premier Doug Ford, Labour Minister Monte McNaughton and Health Minister Christine Elliott for mandatory sick pay for workers across Ontario.
Peterborough Public Health isn’t the only board pushing for this: similar letters have already sent by the boards of health in Kingston and Peel Region, for example.
“Hopefully it will make a difference,” Salvaterra said of the lobbying.
The provincial stay-home orders were lifted for most of Ontario on Tuesday, leaving Peterborough in a yellow zone according to the provincial framework for COVID-19 prevalence.
That yellow rating allows people to dine in restaurants, get a haircut and to visit gyms while keeping a physical distance, for example — all activities that haven’t been allowed since Dec. 26, when the stay-home orders went into effect.
The colour-coding will be reexamined every two weeks with a view to potential downgrades, Salvaterra said, adding that any sudden decline in COVID-19 cases could trigger an upgrade to a less-restricted colour sooner than 14 days.
“We can quickly move up — but we won’t be moving down very quickly,” she said.
Selwyn Mayor and board of health chair Andy Mitchell also spoke at the press briefing on Tuesday, urging local citizens to continue to be cautious and vigilant as they continue to follow public health guidelines.
“The change to yellow status should not be seen as a signal to turn to pre-pandemic behaviour,” Mitchell said.