The Ontario government has announced new emergency orders impacting the City of Kawartha Lakes:
April 9 – Construction – regulation amended regarding the closure of non-essential workplaces to permit the operation of certain construction workplaces for projects which are due to be completed before October 4, 2020 and that would provide additional capacity in the production, processing, manufacturing or distribution of food, beverages or agricultural products;
April 10 – Child Care – temporary order issued preventing child care centres from collecting payments from parents while care is not being provided, and protecting parents' child care spaces – the announcement reminded child care providers that they can seek government financial support to assist their business;
April 11 – Emergency Declaration – extended all previously issued emergency orders under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act – those orders have been extended to April 23, 2020 and include the orders respecting the closure of non-essential workplaces;
Additional Orders – The government has also announced new and additional orders by press releases:
- regarding temporary health or residential facilities, which the government announcement indicates will "[make] it easier to repurpose existing buildings and put up temporary structures, like tents, so communities can meet their local needs quickly. This will reduce pressure on health care facilities, where needed, and help shelters provide more space for sleeping to maintain the physical distancing requirements to reduce the spread of the virus";
- allowing hospitals and retirement homes to enter into agreements which will "[temporarily enable] hospitals to increase their capacity by using the beds and services of retirement homes without certain labour relations implications during the declared provincial emergency"; and
- effective April 16, 2020, to "[support] construction workers and businesses with emergency action to help improve cash flow in the construction industry during the COVID-19 outbreak. This will lift the suspension of limitation periods and procedural time periods under the Construction Act and allow the release of holdback payments to contractors and subcontractors."
On April 12, 2020, the government also announced that it is, together with the Ontario Privacy Commissioner, developing a new health data platform called the Pandemic Threat Response (PANTHR). According to the government press release, PANTHR will "hold secure health data that will allow researchers to better support health system planning and responsiveness."
