Toronto sets January date for city workers to return to the office, amid rising COVID-19 cases, Omicron uncertainty
Published April 15th, 2020 by Michael Spratt
On April 4, 2020, the City of Toronto reached a milestone concerning its COVID-19 response. For the first time, the city had a daily number of known cases of infected people. For the next two weeks, the city would report these numbers to the public every day, with a special focus on the number of community quarantines.
The first day of the new month was to be the date when regular citizens would return to work. As the number of reported cases increased to over 1,400 people, the city would have to decide whether or not to resume the process of gradually removing some employees from public workplaces. On the morning of April 15, city staff were told to meet with their bosses.
On April 15, 2020, an employee in Toronto was placed on paid administrative leave during work hours, while others were being sent home from work and given a 10-day paid suspension.
At 8:45 a.m., the City of Toronto issued an update on the number of new cases in the city. By 11:00 a.m., the number of new cases had increased to over 1,400 people, with 5,000 tests being run on people with no symptoms.
While the numbers are concerning for the city, there is still an open question surrounding the process of how to respond to the emerging and potentially spreading COVID-19 pandemic.
As the number of cases and tests increase in Toronto, it is vital that decisions around how the city proceeds are made not only with an eye on the public health, but also with an eye on the economic and social benefits to citizens as well as to the city in the long run.
The Mayor of London should not be held responsible for the failure of the Canadian government in its response
On Tuesday, April 14, 2019, the mayor of London, Ontario stood outside the Ontario Legislature,