Thread by @MariannMeedWard

Welcome to a special #TwitterTakeover of tonight’s @cityburlington #COVID19 Response Tele-Town Hall with the Mayor’s Media & Digital Comms Specialist John Bkila. It starts at 7 p.m. & is open to the public. If you don’t receive a call, you can dial in at: 1-800-231-0276. ⤵️

The Tele-Town Hall is also being broadcast by @yourtvhalton on Cogeco cable channel 700 and on YouTube: . ⤵️

Tonight’s panel of leaders includes:
• Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
• Members of #BurlON City Council
• Burlington MP, the Honourable @KarinaGould
• Oakville North-Burlington MP, @PamDamoff
• Burlington MPP, Jane McKenna
⤵️

Tonight’s panel of leaders con’t:
• Representatives from @Jo_Brant Hospital — President & CEO Eric Vandewall & Dr. Dale Kalina, Medical Director of Infection, Prevention and Control
• @HaltonPolice Supt. Anthony Odoardi
• @BurlingtonFire Chief Dave Lazenby ⤵️

Panel of leaders con’t:
• Carla Nell, President and CEO of Burlington Chamber of Commerce @burlingtoncofc
• @anitacassidys, Executive Director of @BurlingtonEcDev
• @cityburlington City Manager Tim Commisso and members of City staff and senior leadership team.

Mayor Meed Ward’s opening remarks: “Hello everyone and good evening. This is our second public telephone town hall to address the ongoing COVID-19 situation we are facing, and to get helpful and timely information out to everyone in our community... ⤵️

“For those of you calling in a 2nd time tonight, welcome back. If you’re new to this platform, let me welcome you & thank you for joining us. ⤵️

We know there are questions out there & we want to educate & empower you with the answers you need to make the best decisions for you & your family... ⤵️

“Our No. 1 priority is the health and well-being of everyone in Burlington, including our healthcare teams and the front line workers who continue to deliver essential services to all of us.... ⤵️

“I want to welcome our partners from other levels of government here tonight – our members of federal parliament, the Honourable @KarinaGould from Burlington and @PamDamoff from Oakville-North Burlington, and our member of provincial parliament, Jane McKenna from Burlington... ⤵️

“We are also joined by the President and CEO of @Jo_Brant Hospital, Eric Vandewall, & Dr. Dale Kalina, Medical Director of Infectious Disease. We have @HaltonPolice Supt. Anthony Odoardi, Carla Nell, @burlingtoncofc President & CEO,... ⤵️

“... @anitacassidys, Exec. Dir. of @BurlingtonEcDev, & of course your members of city council are here, along with City Manager Tim Commisso, & members of our staff & senior leadership team. Thank you to you all for being here & I’ll introduce them if they receive a question. ⤵️

“We are all working closely together every day to get our community through this crisis and tonight’s town hall is an important part of making that happen... ⤵️

“I know there are a lot of questions and we want to provide as much time for them as possible, so I'll turn it back over to tonight's facilitator to get things going.”

Q: Why is the Pandemic Response Unit being built by Joseph Brant Hospital? Are you expecting a pandemic?

Response from Eric: We have a surge plan in place. We’re able to decant the hospital to 50%. However, the #’s we’re expecting, we’ve built the PRU to ensure we have capacity.

Q: Is there a number we can call for those disobeying the provincial emergency orders? Are smaller retailers being monitored?

Response from Supt. Odoardi: We’ve received hundreds of calls and most are being directed to our local bylaw officers. Police are also supporting... ⤵️

... with education and warnings. Bylaw officers will attend areas and have conversations with businesses and customers. The hotline is 905-825-4722.

Response from Mayor: The other option is to also call the Ministry of Labour for businesses.

Q: What is being done about taxes? All parks and parking lots are closed to public, why aren’t they closed to vehicles?

Response from Mayor: On April 6, we passed a tax deferral program at the City (more details at bit.ly/mayormeedwardC…). We’ve also closed the major... ⤵️

... parking lots where we’ve seen crowding occur. The parking lot you’re referencing belongs to a community facility.

Response from Tim: What we’re looking at with parking lots and parks are the more popular places where people congregating to close. We’re encouraging... ⤵️

... them to use them but not assemble. We want to keep our neighbourhood parks accessible for residents who want activity and fresh air. But we’re monitoring very closely.

Q: How safe are we to use the hospital or visit the hospital for non-COVID-19 related issues?

Response from Dr. Kalina: That’s the type of problem we have been working to solve over the past couple of months. At Joseph Brant Hospital, with expected surge, elective... ⤵️

... surgeries have been cancelled. Out-patient visits are also being done virtually. Every person that comes into the hospital wears a face mask and when you come in as a staff, patient or visitor, you’re also being screened for signs and symptoms of the virus. ⤵️

Response from Eric: If you require an emergency visit or need emergency surgery, there are established practices and protocols to ensure safety of everyone - patients and staff.

Q: How are we doing compared to other communities? Are we safer?

Response from Mayor: The numbers are tracked daily on Halton.ca/Coronavirus. ⤵️

Response from Dr. Kalina: We don’t judge how well we’re doing by comparing to other communities. At the hospital, we have 6 patients admitted for COVID-19 with 4 in ICU. We’ve had 2 related fatalities. I think we’re doing well in treating patients reflective of their wishes.

Q: Do we have additional staff for the PRU additional beds?

Response form Eric: The PRU is equipped to deal with negative to moderate cases, but it can be adapted to care for higher levels. Intensive care will be done in the hospital. We’re confident we’re able to staff the PRU.

Q: If we’ve already had COVID-19, are we immune to it? If we thought we had, can we find out?

Response from Dr. Kalina: If you got sick 4 weeks ago, we didn’t see community spread. If you hadn’t travelled, then the chance that you had is low. The tests we have now is to... ⤵️

... see if you have the disease now and if you can spread it now. In a couple of months, I expect to have the tests to determine if a person has had it. We don’t have yet the answer if you have had it, if you are immune, but research on that is being done.

Q: Can residents in condo units visit one another? If you were in self-quarantined, could you have gone out to toss out your garbage?

Response from Supt. Odoardi: Under The Quarantine Act, for anyone who has travelled, they are screened at port of entry, and quarantined...

... for 14 days - and that includes the areas immediately adjacent to living space. That info will be filtered down to police of jurisdiction. We then conduct checks on those individuals and report back. If we find a breach of quarantine, we speak with Ministry on how...

... to proceed. We have been lucky to see people are following directives.

Response from MP Gould: Quarantine means you need to stay within your own living space so that they don’t come into contact with others for 14 days after they’ve returned home. Deliveries need to be...

... dropped off, that person leaves and then you can pick them up. We can share the guidelines for condo with the Mayor and public.

Response from Mayor: If you’re in quarantine, you cannot visit your condo unit neighbours. This can mitigate the spread.

Q: We are facing peak hydro rates during the day - is anything being done for relief?

Response from Mayor: Hydro rates have been reduced by the Ontario Energy Board with a blended rate between the off-peak/on-peak. It will definitely be a less rate.

Response from MPP McKenna: The rate reduction right now for hydro is a 50% decrease, the weekend rate and that’s for 45 days for now.

Q: I’ve had to stay inside for quarantine and now feeling pins and needles. What should I do?

Response: If you’re feeling new symptoms and medical conditions to deal with, you can reach out to your family physician and Tele-Health Ontario, who can redirect you to their...

... digital resources to help with symptoms you’re experiencing.

Q: I’m a student. When and how will we open up our city facilities?

Response from mayor: City and facilities are closed until end of June and we’ll reassess for any extension.

Response from City manager: The province makes decisions that we in the city responds to. We’re closely watching the decisions at federal and provincial level and anticipating them. The decision of when we reopen facilities is definitely top of mind and when our health...

... professionals and upper governments say it’s good to move forward.

Response from MPP McKenna: Today, MPPs voted to extend emergency orders until May 12. We’re waiting to see what will happen with schools, which won’t reopen on May 4. All levels of government are working collaboratively right now.

Response from Dr. Kalina: I wish I had a crystal ball to know when this will end. I’ve seen the modelling and it looks like we’re getting close to reaching our peak in close to 2-3 weeks. But realistically, what it will take for us to go back to reopening everything is...

... when we determine the spread has stopped. With an incubation period of 2 weeks, it makes determining that difficult. We’d need to see close to 0 new cases for a few weeks.

Q: What’s the safety of backyard pools - is it safe for households amid COVID-19?

Response from Dr. Kalina: Honestly, we haven’t looked into that too much. Chlorine sometimes is used to clean in hospital, but we use more hydrogen peroxide. I don’t expect much of a spread...

... in a pool setting as long as those enjoying it aren’t sick or at risk of spreading COVID-19.

Q: Has City of Burlington given tickets yet with those who have broken the bylaw? Or are they just giving warnings? What about those holding parties or sleepovers?

Response from Supt. Odoardi: We have begun issuing offence notices in Halton. The first priority is to...

... educate, then on repeat calls, we issue offence notices - bylaw officers are doing the same. We’re seeing few infractions, but can scale up to ticketing. We will investigate calls, including those who shouldn’t be in your household or around your household.

Q: With PPE and N-95 masks, where can the public go to get these masks?

Response from Carla: At present, all of local business organizations have been working PPE available in community is available for our healthcare and frontline workers — through...

... our Team Burlington website. For sourcing for personal use, our advice currently is making sure those devices are available to those who are ill and in a healthcare setting.

... Response from Dr. Kalina: N-95 masks are meant to help and protect healthcare workers to help when they’re dealing with aerosols/tiny specks in the air. Outside of a hospital, the public doesn’t need these masks. Regular surgical masks prevent those who are sick...

... from spreading the virus to others. The main factor is to keep up with healthcare measures - wash hands, use hand-sanitizer.

Response from MP Damoff: In terms of procurement, we are trying to make sure we have the supply we need in Canada that then gets...

... distributed to provinces. Our Oakville MP has been working with industries around the world and mobilizing the country. We’ve had shipments reach Hamilton as early as this past week. It is a challenge as Canada is trying to procure these items with every other country...

... in the world, but we’ve been doing a good job so far and all levels of government have been working towards this goal.

Response from MPP McKenna: Over the past five days, we’ve had shipments come in to Ontario and we’re all extending a hand to help out where the need is.

... Response from Anita: We also have companies in Burlington who are retooling their business models to provide and produce some of the PPEs and hand-sanitizers the public needs.

Q: I’m concerned with seniors in our community who are living in a variety of facilities - we know staff are moving between facilities and I’m worried about cross-contamination. Is there any move to keep staff working in a single facility?

Response from MPP McKenna: There will be an announcement tomorrow on that. Because the surge hasn’t affected some hospitals, those staff will be redeployed to the facilities that need assistance.

Response from MP Gould: The federal government has put out some best practices and guidelines in long-term care facilities. You can follow all of these guidelines and stats at canada.ca/CoVID19.

Q: Are you allowed to go for walks and bike rides outside?

Response from Mayor: We have encouraged people to go through our parks, not linger, not congregate. However, there have been some parks that have closed - Conservation Halton parks, Bruce Trail, the Province...

... has closed all of its parks (Bronte Creek). In the City, our parking lots have closed to encourage residents to visit parks within walking distance and not drive to a larger park — that contributes to crowding. If it’s not signed closed, you can walk, cycle, jog through it.

Q: If you are a family that has self-isolated for 2 weeks, would you be safe to see another family who has self-isolated for 2 weeks?

Response from Dr. Kalina: At the end of the day, the risk is not being able to confirm if someone has or has not been contact with...

... someone with the virus. I still think it’s safest if we are not visiting other people’s houses and maintaining safe distances for the time being.

Q: Is there a drop box at City Hall to drop off city taxes?

Response from City Manager: The due date for property taxes has been extending to June 30. There is a drop-off box, but it’s best to mail it.

Q: Is there a group or assistance program to help seniors living on their own without access to computers to help them with groceries? My household is full of essential workers, to visit my mother on her own - should we leave her alone, can we get her any assistance?

Response from Counc. Nisan: If a senior or vulnerable person doesn’t have Internet they can call GoodneighbourProject.ca at 647-873-2230 to access supports.

Response from Mayor: You can also call 311 and 211.

Response from Dr. Kalina: It’s a very difficult balance to strike with essential workers limiting their exposure to senior family members. It is important to limit that exposure, at the end of the day there is an increased risk. With respect to mental health, if you can...

... visit while respecting physical distancing or by calling on the phone or virtually, that can help limit exposure and keep people connected.

Response from Counc. Kearns: In the coming days, residents should be receiving in the mail from their councillor some messaging,...

... information of how to protect yourself and how to access resources.

Response from Counc. Sharman: The food bank is really important in getting food delivered to their clients. The Hope Bible Church is also providing food, services and prayers for anyone who would like them.

Response from Counc. Galbraith: A cell out of St. Matthew’s Church, people can donate groceries, and anything extra, and that gets distributed to those in need. We also have the food bank in Ward 1 and other community organizations who are doing what they can.

Response from Counc. Bentivegna: We have a number of volunteers in Ward 6 through the food bank and Food for Life to help deliver care packages to homes in need. We’re trying to find locations to work with volunteers to put these programs together.

Q: Should we be concerned by second-hand smoke and can COVID-19 be transferred that way?

Response from Dr. Kalina: Through this process, it’s very different from the process of this particular virus, which can be transferred through droplets and not smells in the air. But...

... any second-hand smoke is bad for you, so it’s important to avoid that as well - the risk of exposure to COVID-19, as long as you are 2 metres away, you should be safe. When the virus is in the air, it drops from the air pretty quickly.

Q: How long can the virus survive on surfaces?

Response from Dr. Kalina: The main way the virus is spread is not directly through surfaces, but it’s important to keep washing your hands when handling objects and surfaces. Getting the virus from surfaces is very low.

Q: It seems Canada and Ontario has had a slow start in testing and continues to lag behind other countries. What is the reason we are not testing more? Is it a lack of supplies?

Are we looking at impacts on those who have delayed cancer treatments & the higher suicide rates?

Response from MP Gould: These are all very valid concerns. We have to recognize our governments are all trying our best to prevent spread of infections. Canada is in Top 5 of testing per capita, we are doing fairly extensive testing. Different provinces...

have different strategies. We’re right now in a global pandemic, COVID-19 is happening at the same time all around the world. We’re all learning and moving together pretty quickly in real-time on this. The reason we’re taking these extraordinary measures is to make sure...

... we end up on the low-end of our modelling. We really want to avoid what other countries are experiencing, their medical systems being unable to cope. We need to try everything we can to not overwhelm the capacities of our medical system. We place an equal value...

... on all human life. While the majority of patients and those not surviving COVID-19 are older, there is a large number of those under 40 who are being affected in the same way - that’s why we’re doing this, to protect the health and well-being of everyone in Canada. These...

... are extraordinary times and that’s why we have to take these extraordinary measures.

Response from Dr. Kalina: I echo what Minister Gould has said. A consequence of our globalization is that this has spread so much faster than say the Spanish flu. We need to ensure...

... our capacity to give people the level of care they need without having to ration. When you flatten the curve, you delay when the surge will hit. Because of the measures we have put in place and we’re delaying the peak, that’s the best news we can receive in the medical...

... community. It’s giving us the opportunity to prepare and plan. We are expanding the ability in Ontario to test more and more people. With treatments that still need to be done, they are still being done and scheduled in a way that reduces the risk for these patients...

... and limits the delays to necessary treatments and care as much as possible.

Q: What supports are there for mental health in the community?

Response from Dr. Kalina: Mental health care has expanded to include virtual and group activities. Isolation can exacerbate underlying mental health conditions. Staff at Joseph Brant Hospital is working hard...

... to ensure those who need care have access to it.

Response from MP Damoff: Our Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK) offer a variety of supports. MP Gould and I have pushed for federal investments for Kids Help Phone to ramp up their services for kids and young adults. They...

... can text 686868 and call 1-800-668-6868.

Response from Counc. Kearns: I invite those to reach out to the Halton Distress Centre who provide telephone support everyday - text 647-557-6250 or call 905-681-1488.

Mayor Meed Ward’s closing remarks: “I want to thank everyone in our community who connected here tonight and came together in the spirit of sharing information and supporting their families and each other through this crisis... ⤵️

“I’d like to again thank our panelists, the Hon. Karina Gould & Pam Damoff, our Federal MPs, Burlington MPP Jane McKenna, HRPS Supt. Odoardi, Eric Vandewall & Dr. Kalina from Joseph Brant Hospital, Carla Nell, Chamber President & CEO,... ⤵️

“... Anita Cassidy, Burlington Ec Dev Executive Director, Fire Chief Lazenby, City Manager Tim Commisso, all our city councillors and the staff and leadership here at City Hall. ⤵️

“Please remember to get frequent updates from both the city & my own social media accounts, and visit the city website at Burlington.ca/coronavirus, where we share daily updates & will be posting answers from tonight’s town hall (burlington.ca/townhall) including... ⤵️

“... those questions we didn’t have a chance to get to in our queue. Thank you again for joining us tonight. Please stay home, stay healthy, & be kind to one another. Thank you.”

And that does it for this special edition of #TwitterTakeover. Thank you to all those who called in with their questions, who listened in & followed along on Twitter. Back to you Mayor.

Have a good night, #BurlON. Stay safe, stay healthy & stay kind to one another out there. -JB