Free rapid COVID-19 testing kits are now available to businesses
Visit gncc.ca/workplace-self-screening-kits to learn more and reserve kits for your organization.
Over half of Ontario adults vaccinated with second dose
More than half of all adults in Ontario have now received a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine rollout continues to reach all individuals aged 12 and over with first and second doses, while the province prepares for Step Three of the Roadmap to Reopen. To date, more than 78 per cent of adults aged 18 and over have received at least a first dose and more than 51 per cent have received both doses, ensuring the strongest possible protection against COVID-19.
Between May 15 and June 12, 2021, more than 83 per cent of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ontario were individuals who had not received either dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, more than 15 per cent had received one dose, and approximately one per cent had received both doses.
Canada announces historic first early learning and child care agreement in British Columbia
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Premier of British Columbia, John Horgan, today announced an agreement that will significantly improve early learning and child care for children in the province. As part of this agreement, the Government of Canada will invest $3.2 billion over the next five years to help improve regulated early learning and child care for children under 6 years of age in British Columbia. By the end of 2022, British Columbians will see a 50 per cent reduction in average parent fees for children under the age of 6 in regulated child care.
The Government of Canada will continue to work with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners across the country to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system.
Government of Ontario invests $16 million in Peach King Centre, Grimsby
The provincial investment will help create a fully equipped community centre with improved accessibility, a full-sized gymnasium, an accessible indoor walking and wheeling track, and a creative outdoor recreation space. The Peach King Centre will also have more gathering spaces and multi-purpose rooms for use by the Grimsby community including youth, cultural, preschool and EarlyON spaces.
In total, the expansion and renovation of the Peach King Centre in Grimsby will cost approximately $21 million.
Lynn Wells begins work as Brock Interim President
With the departure of Gervan Fearon, the Board of Trustees appointed Wells as Interim President and Vice-Chancellor for a period of up to two years while a search for a successor is completed. She will continue as Provost as well during this time.
Wells, who first joined the University in July 2020, says Brock is on track for an “exciting couple of years,” with plans to relocate its Hamilton campus to Burlington, development of the University’s Engineering programs, expansion of continuing education and the arrival of the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games.
But at the forefront, as planning continues for a significant return to campus this fall, the safety of students, faculty and staff remains the University’s top priority.
Ontario Modernizing the Drainage Act
As part of its plan to reduce red tape and create a more competitive business environment, the Ontario government has amended the Drainage Act to reduce regulatory burden and streamline approvals for farmers, rural landowners and municipalities undertaking drainage projects.
Lamba COVID-19 variant now spreading in Canada, early evidence suggests current vaccines offer protection
Lambda, or C.37, is one of the latest variants of the virus behind COVID-19, and it’s now being reported in Canada, the CBC is reporting. While only a small number of cases have been reported countrywide so far, public health officials are keeping a close eye on this variant of interest first identified in South America. The first samples were found in Peru back in August 2020, but it was only deemed a variant of interest by the World Health Organization (WHO) in mid-June.
In Canada, 11 cases of the variant have been reported as of July 5, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) told CBC News in a statement.
Reading Recommendations
What’s the cost of cutting oilsands’ carbon emissions? A cool $75 billion
Financial Post
It will cost about $75 billion to zero out greenhouse gases from oilsands operations by 2050, with a good deal of the costs borne by taxpayers and many loose ends yet to be tied up, according to two of the industry’s top CEOs.
To achieve the goal announced last month, about half of the emission cuts would need to come from capturing carbon at oilsands sites and sequestering it deep underground, which may require as much as two-thirds government capital like in Norway, Mark Little, chief executive office of Suncor Energy Inc., said in an interview. It’s still unclear how and when most of the projects will be implemented, or which agreements will be needed, but it’s clear the industry doesn’t want to do it alone.
B.C. wildfires damaged key rail lines, backlogging Canada’s freight supply chain
CBC News
Wildfires burning across British Columbia damaged rail lines and brought train shipments to a grinding halt, causing a backlog of deliveries of all sorts of freight that is only now starting to slowly clear.
Rail giants CN and CP warned their customers earlier this week that fires damaged major rail lines in the interior of the province, making them unsafe to use. That caused trains to back up along the network, idling thousands of rail cars and stranding their contents.
Canadian miner Teck Resources said it expects it to sell as much as 500,000 fewer tonnes of steelmaking coal due to the rail disruption, as it can’t get its product efficiently to customers.
Make your brand’s nickname work for you
Harvard Business Review
Consumers having been driving Chevys, drinking Cokes, shopping at Tarjay, and eating at MickeyD’s for decades. But as more and more brand engagement moves online, how should marketers approach these brand nicknames in an increasingly digital landscape?
In a recent study, we investigated how brand nicknames can influence both consumers’ engagement with brands and how credible they find a brand’s communications. In the first part of the study, we conducted an analysis of more than 10,000 consumer-written tweets that referenced three well-known brands, and compared share and like rates for posts that used formal name hashtags (e.g., #chevrolet, #buffalowildwings, and #newenglandpatriots) with posts that used nickname hashtags (e.g., #chevy, #bdubs, and #pats). We found that nicknames had a clear positive impact on engagement: On average, consumer tweets that used nickname hashtags were shared twice as much and liked three times as much as tweets that used the formal name hashtags.
Niagara COVID Stats Tracker (July 3)
| December 18 | December 25 | January 1 | January 8 | January 15 | January 22 | January 29 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive number | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| New cases per 100,000 | 101.2 | 267.3 | 469.8 | 575.8 | 507.1 | 295.5 | 250.6 |
| New cases per day (not including outbreaks) | 60.7 | 178.7 | 311.7 | 376.9 | 325.4 | 182.7 | 145.7 |
| Percent of hospital beds occupied | 97% | 95.2% | 98.2% | 103.2% | 104.5% | 103.6% | 106% |
| Percent of intensive care beds occupied | 78.8% | 77.3% | 87.9% | 87.9% | 90.9% | 89.4% | 93.9% |
| Percentage of positive tests | 6.1% | 15.6% | 28.1% | 28.6% | 26.6% | 21.2% | 16.2% |
These data show the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Niagara. The Province of Ontario is now using a provincewide approach to reopening, and these data no longer have any influence on Niagara’s restrictions.
Data are drawn from Niagara Region Public Health.
Guide
Reproductive number: the average number of new cases each case causes. If each person infects one other person, the rate is 1; if each person infects two people, the rate is 2. Under the outdated COVID-19 response framework, the target for “green-prevent” was less than 1.
New cases per 100,000: the total number of new cases per week identified per 100,000 population. Under the outdated COVID-19 response framework, the target for “green-prevent” was less than 10.
New cases per day: the total number of new cases identified per day over seven days using a rolling average. This number does not include identified outbreaks.
Percent of hospital beds occupied: the total percentage of the Niagara Health System’s hospital beds currently in use. The average occupancy rate of both acute care beds and total hospital beds in Ontario was 96 per cent in 2018-19. It should be noted that this rate was the highest (worst) in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Percent of intensive care beds occupied: the total percentage of the Niagara Health System’s intensive care hospital beds currently in use. The average occupancy rate of both acute care beds and total hospital beds in Ontario was 96 per cent in 2018-19. It should be noted that this rate was the highest (worst) in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Percentage of positive tests: the percentage of COVID-19 tests that were positive. Under the outdated COVID-19 response framework, the target for “green-prevent” was less than 0.5%.
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker (July 7)
Niagara’s most up-to-date vaccination numbers are presented below, along with comparison data from Ontario, Canada, and G7 countries.
Total doses administered in Niagara: 509,396
Total doses administered in Niagara since yesterday: 8,476
Ontario is currently in Step Two of the Roadmap to Reopen.
Step Three of the Roadmap to Reopen will begin when Ontario has vaccinated 70-80% of adults with one dose, 25% of adults with two doses, has positive public health indicators, and has been in Step Two for at least 21 days. Step Two began at 12:01 a.m. on June 30, 2021.
| Percentage of population with one dose | Percentage of population fully vaccinated | |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara | 82.7% | 78.2% |
| Ontario | 84.6% | 79.1% |
| Canada | 84.7% | 78.6% |
| United States | 75% | 64% |
| United Kingdom | 78% | 72% |
| Germany | 76% | 74% |
| France | 80% | 77% |
| Italy | 83% | 76% |
| Japan | 80% | 79% |
| World | 63% | 53% |
Data are drawn from Niagara Region, the Government of Ontario, and Oxford University’s Our World in Data project.
