The Calm After the Storm Before the Next Storm
Welcome back to Guelph's #1 COVID-19 newsletter (Trademarked!)
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Welcome to the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet, a twice-a-week newsletter meant to “tip” you off about some of the important stuff going on in the Royal City. It arrives directly in your inbox on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The total number of Canadian cases of COVID-19 stands at 736 with another 34 suspected cases. Ontario still has the most cases in the country, but the number now stands at 257. There are still no confirmed cases in Guelph or Wellington County according to Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.
A 51-year-old Milton man became the second person in Ontario to die of COVID-19. Sean Cunnington was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago and when he started showing symptoms of COVID-19 on March 4, he went to the hospital where he was given a prescription for pneumonia and sent home. He would eventually make his way back to Milton District Hospital on March 11 and was then transferred to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital on March 18 where he died shortly after.
Alberta also suffered its first COVID-19 death today, an Edmonton man in his 60s with underlying health issues.
Italy crossed a grim milestone on Thursday when it reached 3,405 deaths from COVID-19, surpassing the number of people who have so far died in China where the outbreak began. China itself meanwhile had some good news: no new local cases of COVID-19 for the first time since the pandemic began.
In an emergency session, the Ontario legislature passed the Employment Standards Amendment Act and the Municipal Emergency Act by the unanimous consent of 26 MPPs. The two bills arrange to get funds and supplies to first responders and public health units, and to offer economic assistance to people and businesses, respectively.
The Government of Ontario also announced today that they’re shutting down all provincial parks until April 30, and they’re also extending the validation period for driver’s licenses, license plate stickers, health cards, and commercial vehicle operator registration.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today that it’s likely that the Canada-U.S. border will close Friday night.
Many people are criticizing the CBC for cutting back on local news at this important time in favour of running national newscasts in lieu of local dinner hour and late evening broadcasts.
In terms of Guelph-related COVID-19 news…
All City of Guelph facilities are now closed to the public including City Hall. The County of Wellington made a similar move.
The two remaining city council meetings for March have been cancelled. Good thing, because three city councillors are presently self-isolating.
Guelph Transit is currently running on a Saturday schedule Monday through Saturday and is now free to all users. People taking the bus will now have to enter and exit from the backdoors, except for people with mobility issues, who will still be able to use the front doors of the bus.
The City of Guelph is suspending the enforcement of overnight, on-street parking restrictions a couple of weeks early.
The Guelph General Hospital, as well as other area hospitals, have initiated more stringent measures on who can visit the hospital and when.
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health has opened a second COVID-19 assessment centre out of Headwaters Health Care Centre in Orangeville.
Waterloo Region Public Health confirmed a new case of COV-19 on Thursday to make it an easy dozen. The case, which belongs to a female in her 20s, is the first confirmed case of community spread in the area.
The Guelph Arts Council has postponed Doors Open Guelph till an unspecified later date.
Guelph Police are warning the public about scams. Be weary, no one from the government is going to call you and ask for money.
You can listen to CFRU’s emergency news show covering the local angles of the outbreak by downloading them on the Guelph Politicast channel. You can hear Monday and Tuesday’s here, and Wednesday’s here.
The Politico Tip Sheet is open for anyone to subscribe, so if you know a friend or associate that might like to receive this newsletter, send it to them, and get them to click on the button below:
Guelph Police Service notes that calls were down by over 40 per cent this year when compared to St. Patrick’s Day in 2019. The unsanctioned street party on Ezra Avenue in Waterloo was also cancelled.
Dixon’s Distilled Spirits is one of numerous small distilleries in Ontario that has shifted it’s operations to create some much needed hand sanitizer.
Various Downtown agencies have combined their efforts to make sure that Guelph’s vulnerable still gets the assistance they need in the midst of the pandemic.
The Guelph Food Bank says they’re in “desperate” need of volunteers given the situation.
In non-virus news, the Guelph Police are looking for a suspicious person that was seen carrying a rifle while walking eastbound along the railroad tracks behind the intersection of Cedarvale Avenue and Valleyhaven Lane. You know, because there’s not enough to worry about already. The man in question is white, and was wearing a dark toque, black vest, and green army jacket.
The council meetings for both March 23 and March 30 have been cancelled. These meetings will be rescheduled for a later date.
Presently, council is scheduled to resume with the April 6 Committee of the Whole meeting. City Hall is presently scheduled to re-open on the same day.
Mayor Cam Guthrie has said that there may be a possibility of continuing council meeting via teleconference, but so far nothing has been formally announced.
For more information on Guelph City Council meetings, from agendas to live-tweets to recaps, you can visit that page on Guelph Politico here.
Obviously, with everyone trying to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, there’s not a lot happening in Guelph at the moment. Wash your hands often, stay home if you’re sick, cough and sneeze into a tissue or your sleeve, and clean and disinfect high touch surfaces frequently, and if you do have to go out, maybe to get some air or maybe to get *a few items* from the store, keep a healthy two-metre distance from other people.
Subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and be treated to three different shows every week.
On Monday get the new episode of news and current affairs on Open Sources Guelph, on Wednesday, download the flagship Guelph Politicast and hear from interesting Guelph characters and about topical issues, and on Friday we’ll chat about new movies and pop culture and stuff on End Credits.
Listen to all these shows any time by subscribing to the Guelph Politicast channel on your favourite podcast app at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.
The slate of constant breaking news seems to have slowed the last couple of days, so things could be settling in for the long watch and wait to see if the mitigation methods have had the desired effect. I’m open to any particular ideas you might have in terms of long simmering process questions, or perhaps an explainer. Something to help get our minds off the you-know-what.
Cats and dominoes. What more do you need?
For something more direct, and R-rated, here’s Malcom Tucker:
And finally, feel free to reach out to be by email at adamadonaldson [at] gmail [dot] com, or find me on Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, GuelphPolitico.ca!