Public Health Update

Public Health Update
Last week, the Ontario government released the new Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework. Under this new framework, the Province has classified all local public health unit regions into five levels: Green-Prevent, Yellow-Protect, Orange-Restrict, Red-Control, and Lockdown. Public health units will be required to introduce targeted measures for specific sectors, institutions, and other settings depending on their level.

Each public health unit will be classified according to current framework indicators. Final decisions on moving public health unit regions within the framework will be made by the Provincial government based on updated data and in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, local Medical Officers of Health, and other health experts. These decisions will be reviewed weekly.

Going forward, the Ontario government will assess the impact of measures applied to public health unit regions for 28 days, or two COVID-19 incubation periods.

Public Health Region Classification:
On November 7 at 12:01 a.m., the Ontario government transitioned 35 of the Province's 36 public health unit regions to the new framework. For a full list of the official categorizations, please click here.

On Tuesday, it was announced that Toronto Public Health (TPH) would enter the Red-Control Level on Saturday, November 14, based on the advice of Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health and the local Medical Officer of Health. Toronto's Medical Officer of Health has also issued orders that will implement additional local measures for a 28-day period starting November 14. A full list of the orders is available here.

Public health measures required for each level can be found in the Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework.

Supporting Businesses Affected by COVID-19 Public Health Measures:
The Province is making $300 million available to support businesses that were required to close or significantly limit services in Toronto and other areas due to modified Stage 2 restrictions.

The Provincial rebate will cover the expenses for the period of time that businesses are subject to the modified Stage 2 public health restrictions. Additionally, the property tax rebates will be net of any federal property tax support provided through the new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), so that the rebate will cover costs beyond those covered by CERS.

Starting on November 16, eligible businesses – including restaurants, bars, gyms, and cinemas – can apply to the Province for temporary property tax and energy cost rebates through an online application portal.