COVID-19 rapid testing for businesses
The Ontario government, in partnership with the federal government and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, has launched the COVID-19 Rapid Screening Initiative for small and medium-sized businesses across the province.
The COVID-19 Rapid Screening Initiative will provide free rapid antigen tests for employees of small and medium-sized businesses through participating local chambers of commerce and other organizations. Businesses (including non-chamber members) with 150 employees or less are welcome to participate in this program. The goal of the program is to identify asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 in the workplace that might otherwise be missed, helping to curb the spread in the workplace, at home and around the community.
The GNCC is pleased to be a partner in this initiative and more information on the distribution of these kits will be available on our site and in our Daily Updates early next week. Questions can be directed to rapidtesting@gncc.ca.
Niagara sees full-time employment gains in April
April 2021 saw 5,300 more people in employment compared to March 2021, reports Niagara Workforce Planning Board. These gains were the result of 5,700 more people in full-time employment and 300 fewer people in part-time employment.
Niagara’s unemployment rate decreased from 13.0% to 12.5%. At the same time, the employment rate increased from 48.7% to 50.1%.
The employment rate rising as unemployment falls is generally an ideal pairing of labour market indicators. Given how past lockdowns impacted local employment trends, these are unexpected outcomes that are not aligned to provincial and national trends that reported overall employment declines, fewer average hours worked, an increase in people working from home, and employment declines in the accommodations and food services sector – which is the sector where Niagara saw its largest month-over-month employment gains.
If these data hold steady in next month’s Labour Force Survey release, it will be an indicator that Niagara has managed to weather the third wave of COVID-19 with an unexpected level of success. However, it is also quite possible that the full impact of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is not captured in April’s employment data. As such, the May Labour Force Survey data, scheduled to be released on June 4, 2021, will offer essential insights on the state of Niagara’s employment landscape.
| Labour force characteristics | March 2020 | April 2020 | 2020 Annual | Feb 2021 | March 2021 | April 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 211,200 | 204,100 | 211,200 | 206,400 | 208,900 | 213,600 |
| Employment | 192,800 | 182,000 | 190,600 | 179,900 | 181,600 | 186,900 |
| Full-time employment | 149,500 | 142,200 | 147,200 | 137,500 | 142,500 | 148,200 |
| Part-time employment | 43,300 | 39,800 | 43,400 | 42,400 | 39,100 | 38,800 |
| Unemployment | 18,400 | 22,100 | 20,600 | 26,500 | 27,200 | 26,600 |
| Unemployment rate | 8.7% | 10.8% | 9.8% | 12.8% | 13.0% | 12.5% |
| Participation rate | 57.0% | 55.1% | 56.9% | 55.4% | 56.1% | 57.3% |
| Employment rate | 52.1% | 49.1% | 51.3% | 48.3% | 48.7% | 50.1% |
Reading Recommendations
Amazon postpones Prime Day in Canada due to COVID-19 outbreaks
The Canadian Press/CBC News
Amazon’s annual Prime Day marketing event in Canada has been put on hold this year amid ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks at its facilities in Ontario’s Peel Region.
The postponement of the event was put in place to protect the health and safety of employees and customers, Amazon said in a notice to sellers obtained by The Canadian Press.
“As we continued to monitor the impact of COVID-19 in Canada, we have decided to pause plans for Prime Day 2021 in Canada,” said the company.
Air Canada pleads with Trudeau for plan to ease travel rules
Sandrine Rastello, Bloomberg News
Flush with bailout funds, Air Canada called on the government of its home country to lay out a plan for reopening borders as vaccination progresses.
Canada’s biggest air carrier is in a position to ramp up operations after reaching a deal for nearly $5.9 billion (US$4.8 billion) in debt and equity with the federal government last month. Chief Executive Officer Michael Rousseau said it’s now “essential” for officials to follow the U.S. in easing rules that have stopped most air travel.
Niagara COVID status tracker (May 1)
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 the most recent published by 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.
The Province of Ontario is currently under a stay-at-home order. The COVID-19 Response Framework does not apply during this order. Click here to review the restrictions currently in place.
▲: Metric has increased since last published measurement
▼: Metric has decreased since last published measurement
— : Metric has not changed since last published measurement
| 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
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker (May 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: 195,738
Total doses administered in Niagara since yesterday: 2,295
| 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.
