Hello Ward 8 Neighbours,
Well, it finally happened. I had a day last week where I completely forgot what day of the week it was – just when I thought I was starting to get into the groove of this working from home thing!
At the time of writing (9:30am on May 29th, 2020) there are now 664 cases of COVID19 in Hamilton with 35 deaths (5%) and 132 hospitalizations (20%).
The number of new daily cases of COVID19 in Hamilton is continuing to remain flat – and we’re seeing close or casual contact (ie. family members of infected people) taking over from community transmission as the leading risk factor.
This week, Hamilton City Council also received a detailed COVID19 update from Public Health Services and the City’s preliminary roadmap to re-opening.
Continue reading below…
Hamilton’s COVID19 Trends
As part of Public Health Services COVID19 update to Council (click here for the complete report or click here for the staff presentation), we saw for the first time a chart showing the trend line of Hamilton’s actual cases plotted against Hamilton’s projected cases (see above).
The trend line shows a clear flattening of Hamilton’s daily infection rates and that our efforts have resulted in infection rates almost exactly in between the worst case and best cast projections.
The report states:
Although the worst of the first wave has passed and businesses are starting to reopen, the pandemic is far from over. Until a vaccine is available, we must learn to live with COVID-19 and adapt to a “new normal”.
City of Hamilton – Public Health Services Post Peak Framework Report
The report also contains the following framework to guide post-peak public health measures:
- Encourage individuals with any COVID-19 symptoms to present for testing within 24 hours of symptom onset;
- Increase capacity for intensive and timely case and contact management;
- Support cases/contacts and their families during isolation and quarantine;
- Endorse universal mask wearing in the community with homemade cloth masks with at least two layers;
- Continue highlighting the importance of physical distancing, hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette;
- Utilize a risk-based approach to guide the safe reopening of businesses and workplaces;
- Identify and address barriers to implementation of recommendations.
Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Open Forum For Business
This week, I was pleased to join City of Hamilton Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Keanin Loomis and Manager of Policy and Government Relations Bianca Caramento for an in-depth discussion about the City’s response to COVID19, property taxes and business recovery.
The Chamber has been doing a tremendous job providing information and resources for Hamilton businesses since the beginning of this crisis! (Click here to visit their dedicated COVID19 business resources page which contains many valuable resources).
You can view the complete video below – the interview begins around the 7:30 mark.
COVID-19 Virtual Open Forum #23: A conversation with Councillor Danko from Hamilton Chamber of Commerce on Vimeo.
Questions or Concerns?
If you think your friends, neighbours and family in Ward 8 may benefit from receiving these updates, please forward the following link and ask them to send us a request to be added to the mailing list: https://ward8hamilton.ca/contact-us/
Let’s work together and support each other.
Stay home, stay healthy – stay safe.
Sincerely,
John-Paul Danko
Hamilton City Councillor for Ward 8
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our office here.