Daily COVID-19 Update: June 18, 2020

Supports for Business

Helping Overnight Camps Prepare for 2021

These camps have been affected in a unique way due to the COVID-19 pandemic, losing revenue while incurring ongoing overhead costs such as insurance, security systems and utilities to maintain facilities and prevent damage. Under the Overnight Camps (for Children and Youth) Facility Overhead Funding Program, non-profit organizations that own or operate overnight camps and meet criteria will be able to apply for a one-time grant to help with ongoing facility costs so they can open next year. Program details are being confirmed, and the online application is expected to be available soon. Applications will be accepted until Aug. 31. More information

Supports for Individuals

Continuing Support For Albertans During COVID-19

Bill 24, the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Statutes Amendment Act, proposes measures to support Albertans as the province continues to reopen. The bill proposes amendments to 15 acts across seven ministries. The amendments are being proposed now that the state of public health emergency has ended. Highlights include:

Extending to August 2021 the unpaid job-protected leave specific to COVID-19, which allows employees to take leave to care for a child due to school or daycare closures or to care for an ill or self-isolating family member.
Providing updated guidance for operating child care programs, including increasing the maximum cohort group size from 10 to 30 staff and children, helping operators reopen safely and ensuring parents have access to child care as they return to work.
Allowing for remote signing and witnessing of estate and care documents through two-way video conferencing, ensuring Albertans continue to have access to justice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Extending the maximum time for temporary layoffs related to COVID-19 from 120 days to 180 days (this change would come into force upon first reading).
Extending the deadline for the public release of Alberta’s annual report and financial statements to Aug. 31.

The proposed amendments will allow some pandemic response efforts to continue and introduce new measures to support the safe and successful reopening of Alberta’s economy. Full details of Bill 24 are available online.

Community Supports and Resources

COVID-19 relaunch status map

The COVID-19 status map shows the level of risk in regions and information about local health measures. It also shows the rate of COVID-19 cases and the number of active cases. Regions are designated as open, watch or enhanced relaunch status. All regions must continue to follow Alberta’s public health measures and guidelines, regardless of relaunch status.

More provincial historic sites Reopening for Summer

The successful reopening of the Royal Alberta Museum and Royal Tyrrell Museum has paved the way towards the reopening of many more provincial sites. Visitor guidelines vary by site

The following facilities will reopen on June 20:

Frank Slide Interpretive Centre
Oil Sands Discovery Centre
Remington Carriage Museum
Reynolds-Alberta Museum
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

Because each site is unique, patrons are encouraged to visit the facility’s website to review visitor guidelines before arrival. New procedures may include pre-booking tickets and some closures of hands-on exhibits and smaller buildings at facilities. All sites have new, reduced capacity limits and distancing measures in place, as well as more access to hand sanitizer. More information

New mobile app to help notify Canadians of COVID-19 exposure

The government today announced the upcoming launch of a new nation-wide mobile app to provide notifications of exposure to COVID-19 across Canada, with beta testing to begin in Ontario.

Use of the app will be voluntary. If someone tests positive for COVID-19, a health care provider will give them a unique temporary code, so they can upload their status anonymously to a national network. Other users who have downloaded the app and come in contact with that person will be notified, through the app, that they may have been exposed to the virus. The app will also provide users with information on steps they can take to keep themselves and others safe, and we are working with the provinces and territories so they can customize public health information based on their own jurisdiction.

The app will be available to Canadians for free download in the coming weeks, with health authorities in Ontario being the first to distribute the unique, temporary codes to people who test positive for COVID-19. They are working with the other provinces and territories to make it available in their jurisdictions as well. More information

Advocacy

CEOs Write To First Ministers Calling For Resumption Of Safe Air Travel

Business leaders from across Canada, representing hundreds of thousands of Canadians, have written an open letter to the Prime Minister and Premiers calling on them to reopen the country to air travel in a safe, smart and measured way. Air travel is not only important for tourism; it is a key economic driver for the entire economy. Read the letter

ACC Speaks about Travel and Tourism

The Alberta Chambers of Commerce, along with travel and tourism leaders across the country, have sent a letter to Premier Jason Kenney in the hopes of establishing a coordinated ‘restart’ for the sector. Read and listen to the full Country 106.5 interview.

New Resources

Supply Chain Canada’s Workforce Marketplace

Whether you represent a business looking for supply chain talent or you are a supply chain worker willing and able to work, the Supply Chain Workforce Marketplace is a tool to help you with your needs. It is a free and open resource to help ensure visibility to the available supply chain talent across the country and to help match available talent with opportunities. More information

RCC Resources

CBRN partner, Retail Council of Canada (RCC), has created useful resources for those in the retail sector. Most recently, the RCC has made available the guide 6 Essentials to Achieve Lasting Recovery in Retail. More information