Vital updates:

• CBC News has reported that the U.S.-Canada border closure will be extended past June 21. Sources have stated that talks are being held to extend the restrictions, but the agreement has not yet been signed. On Monday, the Government of Canada announced that foreign nationals who are immediate family members (i.e. spouses or common-law partners, dependent children, parents or step-parents or the parents or step-parents of the person’s spouse or common-law partner, and guardians or tutors) of Canadian citizens and permanent residents and who do not have COVID-19 or show no signs or symptoms of the coronavirus will be allowed to cross the border into the country. Anyone who enters will have to self-quarantine for 14 days.
• Today, the Government of Ontario launched Ontario Live, a new virtual hub designed to promote and support the province’s tourism and cultural industries. This initiative, developed in collaboration with industry partners and leaders, will provide support for Ontario’s culture and tourism industries and help to mitigate the economic toll of the COVID-19 outbreak on Ontario’s artists, creators and attractions. When complete, Ontario Live will allow all Ontarians to access concerts, online art experiences, gallery and museum tours, virtual tourism experiences and much more, from the safety of their own homes. It will continue to evolve to support COVID-19 recovery efforts for the tourism and culture industries. If you operate a tourism business, consider registering now.
• As part of the Ontario government’s Stage 2 reopening plan, more facilities and services will be available at provincial parks in certain regions beginning on June 12, 2020. None of these apply in Niagara, however, which will remain at Stage 1.
• The Ontario government has developed a plan for the gradual and safe resumption of in-person instruction at postsecondary institutions across the province for the summer term. The plan was developed in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health. Starting in July 2020, limited in-person education and training may restart for students who were not able to graduate due to COVID-19 closures. This first phase will allow institutions to reopen to provide in-person instruction to students in essential, frontline, and high labour market demand areas, such as nursing, personal support workers, engineering, and other critical professions. Thousands of students across the province could benefit from this summer’s reopening. In September, all students will have the opportunity to attend postsecondary education through virtual learning, in-class instruction, or hybrid formats.

Reading recommendations:

• The 7 elements of a good online course, George Veletsianos, The Conversation
• Can a Vaccine for Covid-19 Be Developed in Record Time? A discussion moderated by Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New York Times
• Where The Latest COVID-19 Models Think We’re Headed — And Why They Disagree, Ryan Best & Jay Boice, Five Thirty-Eight