Ontario moves three regions to new Response Framework levels; Niagara remains unchanged
The Ontario government is moving three public health regions to new levels in the revised and strengthened Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework, including moving Lambton Public Health into Grey-Lockdown.
Based on the latest data, the following three public health regions will be moving from their current level in the Framework to the following levels effective Monday, March 15, 2021 at 12:01 a.m.
- Lambton Public Health: Grey-Lockdown
- Northwestern Health Unit: Red-Control
- Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit: Yellow-Protect
In addition, effective today at 12:01 a.m., the government, on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, activated an “emergency brake” in the Public Health Sudbury and Districts region, moving it to the Grey-Lockdown level.
The province is also adjusting capacity limits for weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites or ceremonies held in regions currently in the Grey-Lockdown level of the Framework. Effective Monday, March 15, 2021 at 12:01 a.m., weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites or ceremonies will be permitted to allow for up to 15 per cent total occupancy indoors, or up to 50 people outdoors.
Niagara unemployment rate edges up to 12.8%
February 2021 saw 6,600 fewer people in employment compared to January 2021, as reported in Niagara Workforce Planning Board’s Eye on Employment. 3,400 of these employment losses were among people in full time employment and 3,200 were among people in part time employment. With Niagara’s unemployment rate at 12.8% and our employment rate at 48.3%, February 2021’s data are similar to the trends observed during May and June of 2020, amid the first COVID 19 lockdown. The 26,500 job seekers reported in February 2021 represents a 105.4% increase in the number of job seekers living in Niagara in February 2020.
| Jan 2020 | Feb 2020 | Jan 2021 | Feb 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 220,500 | 217,000 | 210,900 | 206,400 |
| Employment | 208,300 | 204,100 | 186,500 | 179,900 |
| Full-time employment | 160,100 | 156,700 | 140,900 | 137,500 |
| Part-time employment | 48,200 | 47,400 | 45,600 | 42,400 |
| Unemployment | 12,200 | 12,900 | 24,400 | 26,500 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.5% | 5.9% | 11.6% | 12.8% |
| Participation rate | 59.6% | 58.6% | 56.6% | 55.4% |
| Employment rate | 56.3% | 55.1% | 50.1% | 48.3% |
February 2021’s employment declines were concentrated in the services producing sector. Once again, the accommodations and food services sector was the hardest hit, reporting 2,700 fewer people in employment compared to January. While manufacturing saw 800 month over month employment gains, construction saw 1,200 employment losses. Both sectors continue to show employment gains when compared to this time last year.
February 2021 saw 3,300 fewer youth employed in Niagara: 1,700 of these youth were working in a full time capacity and 1,600 were working in a part time capacity. While the youth unemployment rate is slightly lower than what was seen during the 2020 spring COVID 19 lockdown, the youth employment rate for February is the lowest this metric has been within the available data. Compared to February 2020, youth employment in Niagara declined by 30%.
National employment rebounds in February
February Labour Force Survey (LFS) data reflect labour market conditions during the week of February 14 to 20.
In early February, public health restrictions put in place in late December were eased in many provinces. This allowed for the re-opening of many non-essential businesses, cultural and recreational facilities, and some in-person dining. However, capacity limits and other public health requirements, which varied across jurisdictions, remained in place.
Employment increased by 259,000 (+1.4%) in February, after falling by 266,000 over the previous two months. Both part-time (+171,000; +5.4%) and full-time (+88,000; +0.6%) work increased. Among those working part time (less than 30 hours per week) in February, almost one-quarter (23.8%) wanted a full-time job, up from less than one-fifth (18.5%) 12 months earlier. The number of self-employed workers was unchanged for the second consecutive month and was down 7.4% (-213,000) compared with 12 months earlier. Gains included an increase of 226,000 (+1.9%) among private-sector employees. Among workers who worked at least half their usual hours in February, the number working at locations other than home increased by 600,000 as schools and other workplaces reopened in several provinces.
The national unemployment rate fell 1.2 percentage points to 8.2% in February, the lowest rate since March 2020.
The number of long-term unemployed—people who had been looking for work or been on temporary layoff for 27 weeks or more—fell by 49,000 (-9.7%) from a record high of 512,000 in January.
The labour underutilization rate fell 1.8 percentage points to 16.6%—the lowest level since February 2020.
The number of people working in retail trade increased by 122,000 (+6.1%) in February as restrictions on non-essential stores were lifted in many regions. Employment in the accommodation and food services industry rose by 65,000 (+7.8%), driven primarily by Ontario and Alberta.
Employment among youth aged 15 to 24 rose by 100,000 (+4.5%) in February, with increases in both full-time (+36,000; +2.9%) and part-time (+64,000; +6.5%) work. Year-over-year employment losses among young women (-181,000; -14.1%) were nearly double those seen among young men (-96,000; -7.3%). The unemployment rate for youth fell 2.6 percentage points to 17.1% in February, higher than the same month a year earlier (10.4%).
First Niagara Region Public Health COVID-19 vaccination clinics begin March 18
- March 18 – Niagara Falls, MacBain Community Centre
- March 24 – Welland, Niagara Centre YMCA
- March 27 – Grimsby, Niagara West YMCA
- March 29 – Fort Erie, Leisureplex
- March 31 – Niagara-on-the-Lake, Community Centre
- March 31 – Wainfleet, Firefighters’ Community Hall
- April 1 – West Lincoln, Community Centre
- April 2 – St. Catharines/Thorold, Brock University
- April 2 – Lincoln, Lincoln Community Centre
- April 7 – Port Colborne, Vale Health and Wellness Centre
- April 8 – Pelham, Meridian Community Centre
Town of Lincoln fast-tracks approvals for tent permits and temporary patio expansions, waives application fees
The Town of Lincoln is expediting seasonal tent requests and temporary approvals for restaurants, bars, and wineries to help boost business as they reopen.
Under the Red/Control Tier under the Province’s COVID-19 Response Framework, indoor dining and outdoor dining is permitted in areas such as patios. A maximum of 10 patrons can be seated indoors and outdoor dining capacity is limited by the ability to keep patrons two metres apart.
In response, Town of Lincoln Council directed staff to come up with methods to support the tourism and hospitality industry. Approvals for tent permits and temporary patio extensions will come quickly, with an average turnaround time of 48-72 hours. Application fees for the 2021 temporary patio program are also being waived. The move aims to help businesses adapt to COVID-19 public health measures, support economic activity and give residents and tourists an opportunity to enjoy Lincoln’s superb offerings in a safe manner.
Tourism and hospitality operators looking to expand or create temporary patios can contact Matt Bruder, Director, Planning and Development, at MBruder@lincoln.ca. Town staff will work with applicants to help them understand how they can safely operate an outdoor patio during the 2021 patio season.
Reading recommendations
Car buying has changed forever
Joann Muller, Axios
It took a pandemic to drag the car-buying process into the 21st century — and consumers are never going back.
Why it matters: After COVID-19, consumers can now buy cars online as they do almost everything else, with the ability to complete the entire transaction digitally and take delivery without ever setting foot in a showroom.
The big picture: While most other commercial transactions — even banking — went digital years ago, car-buying remained a stubbornly low-tech, often aggravating, process.
But when the public health crisis paralyzed their industry, car dealers had little choice but to embrace the disruptive changes they’d been resisting for decades.
They scrambled to install new software that would let customers browse inventory, apply for credit and choose a payment schedule.
And they offered virtual test drives to demonstrate in-car technology and arranged “touchless” vehicle pickup and delivery.
The short-term, middle-term, and long-term future of the coronavirus
Andrew Joseph, Helen Branswell, STAT
When experts envision the future of the coronavirus, many predict that it will become a seasonal pathogen that won’t be much more than a nuisance for most of us who have been vaccinated or previously exposed to it.
But how long that process takes — and how much damage the virus inflicts in the interim — is still anyone’s guess.
However long it takes, the transition to a mild endemic virus is unlikely to be a straight line. Some infectious disease researchers envision a healthier summer — with low circulation of the virus and more people vaccinated — but a more tenuous fall. Other factors, like how long protection provided by vaccines will last, what percentage of people gets them, and whether variants of the virus sap the strength of vaccines, will determine the outcome.
These are not predictions that people fed up with the pandemic will want to hear. But at the same time, some experts are optimistic that the end of this phase — the crisis phase — is within sight, at least in this country, as vaccines reach more people and protect them from the worst outcomes of Covid-19.
Niagara COVID status tracker
Niagara’s most up-to-date COVID statistics, measured against the targets for the various stages of the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, are presented below. This does not predict government policy, but is offered to give you an idea of where Niagara is situated and how likely a relaxation (or further restrictions) may be. These data are drawn daily from Niagara Region. The Grey-Lockdown level does not have its own metrics, but is triggered when the COVID-specific measurements in a Red-Control region have continued to deteriorate.
| 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% |
Definitions:
- Weekly Incidence Rate: the number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per week
- Percent Positivity: the number of positive COVID-19 tests as a percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed
- Rt: the reproductive rate, or the number of people infected by each case of the virus
