Ontario to announce new support for businesses hit by COVID restrictions
CBC
Ontario will announce new supports for businesses impacted by recent public health restrictions imposed to combat the surge of Omicron cases in the province, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance said Wednesday.
While they provided no specific details, the spokesperson said the measures will be laid out in a news release, set to be published this afternoon.
The province will also call on Ottawa to alter criteria so that Ontario businesses can more easily access federal support programs, the spokesperson said.
Earlier this week, restrictions took effect that put a 50 per cent capacity limit on many indoor settings, including restaurants and bars, retailers, malls and gyms.
They were announced as part of an effort to curb the spread of the highly-transmissible Omicron variant.
Ontario reported 3,453 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, up 143 per cent from last Tuesday, with the province's chief medical officer of health warning the province expects to soon see record case levels.
The seven-day average of daily cases climbed to 3,153, its first time above 3,000 since May 10. That figure is on pace to double every five days or so.
More public health units in Ontario said this week they are changing their approach to COVID-19 testing and contact tracing in light of the Omicron variant.
Niagara Region Public Health said it is beginning to shift resources away from contact tracing to delivering booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which it said can "better blunt" the Omicron wave.
Growing case numbers are making it difficult for people to access testing in a timely manner, which in turn is delaying the identification of cases for followup, the health unit said.
At the same time, Omicron has shortened the time between exposure and becoming contagious, making it less likely health officials can intervene early enough to break the chains of transmission, it said.
"The utility of following up with cases and contacts has diminished, and will become increasingly less valuable as testing delays increase and case numbers overwhelm (Niagara Region) Public Health's capacity," the unit said.
Case management and contact tracing will increasingly be handled by artificial intelligence and outsourced support, it said.
The Hastings Prince Edward public health unit, which covers the Belleville, Ont., area, said it will no longer be able to call everyone who tests positive within a 48-hour period, and will instead focus on responding to cases in high-risk settings such as schools and long-term care.
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