In absence of coherent COVID-19 management plan, Canada’s business groups take the lead

Canada’s leading business groups today outlined their plan to turn the tide against the country’s floundering patchwork approach of simply reacting to rising daily COVID-19 numbers.

With COVID-19 cases increasing at an alarming rate, our leaders face a difficult balancing act. The challenge for us all is to chart a path forward that protects Canadians’ health – on COVID, mental health and other aspects – as well as their economic well-being. However, it is neither socially nor economically sustainable to rely heavily on rotating lockdowns while we wait for an effective vaccine to be widely administered next year.

Between now and the time when the pandemic is brought fully under control it will be important for Canada to manage the disease by controlling its spread and severity, while allowing Canadians to regain more of their ordinary lives. Public health must be the highest priority, and a well-designed strategy to manage COVID-19 will save lives and reduce the pandemic’s social and economic damage. However, to achieve these results, we must move from simply reacting to the disease to actively controlling it.

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Ontario Chamber Calls For Virtual Care to Become a Permanent Fixture in Health Care System

(TORONTO – December 10, 2020) – This week’s report from Ontario’s Auditor General has put the spotlight on virtual care. And while, telemedicine sites have been in place for decades in Canada, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of virtual care in Ontario. Virtual visits have enabled more and more Ontarians to continue accessing quality health care while not exposing themselves to the virus. The latest report by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), Realizing the Full Potential of Virtual Care in Ontario, underscores the need to permanently integrate virtual care into Ontario’s health care system.

“We are now more virtually connected than ever before, and how Ontarians are interacting with the health care system reflects this fact,” said Rocco Rossi President and CEO of the OCC. “We can’t make the same mistakes we did with SARS, by only implementing temporary measures related to virtual care. The permanent integration of virtual care into our system could ensure all Ontarians can access timely and appropriate care, no matter their circumstances, as well as alleviate some of the pressures facing our health care system, such as reducing unnecessary visits to the ER.”

According to Canada Health Infoway’s September 2020 survey, 60% of health care visits with primary care physicians and specialists were conducted virtually at the onset of the pandemic. [1] The report notes that given the uptick in virtual care usage, the resurgence of the pandemic in a second wave, and an uncertain timeline for a vaccine, a more permanent and comprehensive solution is needed.

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Funding available through your local CFDC

In order to provide targeted assistance to the small towns and communities they serve, CFDCs will focus on assisting “main street” businesses, such as retail shops, restaurants, corner stores, and businesses of strategic importance to their communities, with loans up to $40,000.