Ontario to reopen provincial parks for limited use, as COVID-19 cases near 20,000

Premier Doug Ford says provincial parks and conservation reserves will reopen for limited day use startingMonday, as cases of COVID-19 in Ontario near 20,000.

A total of 520parks will open on Monday and the remaining 115will open on Friday.

Recreational activities will be limited to walking, hiking, biking and bird-watching,Ford said at a daily news briefing on Saturday.

Camping is not permitted and allfacilities, playgrounds and beaches will remain closed. People are urged to practice physical distancing and stay two metres apart.

"We're trusting people to be responsible and take this seriously so they can enjoy themselves while staying safe and healthy," Ford told reporters.

All buildings and washrooms, water taps, back country campsites and roofed accommodations will be closed. No group activities will be allowed.

Visitors willbe able to access all parks and conservation reserves for free until the end of the month.

Ontario Environment Minister Jeff Yurekis urging peopleto visit the parks that are closest to their homes instead of spending hours on the highway travelling.

Over the next several weeks, staff from Ontario Parks will be doing maintenance of the green spaces to ensure recreational facilities will be ready when it is safe to reopen.

Ontario allows school employees to work in hospitals

Meanwhile, the government has approved an emergency order allowingschool board employees to be voluntarily redeployedto hospitals,long-term care homes, retirement homesand women's shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government says manycongregate care settings need staff such as custodial and maintenance workers.

"I am encouraging any available educational workers to help out if you can, because you can make a real difference in the lives of those most in need,"Premier Doug Ford said in a statement on Saturday.

Staff would continue their employmentwith the school board, including theircompensation and benefits. They would also be eligible for the provincial government's pandemic pay and emergency child care.

The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, the province's largest teacher's union, says it supports the new order.

In a statement issued on Saturday, ETFO said it has worked to ensure that educators who opt to participate "will receive the necessary training, orientation, safety and personal protective equipment before beginning the first shifts and will be paid while doing so."

"Health and safety for all is a primary concern," the statement reads.

Other Ontario unions, includingthe Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) and theCanadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), saidthey are also support the new decision.

OSSTFpresident Harvey Bischofsaidthe union has been working with the government for the past two weeks to ensure the order would not be mandatory for employees and that other "risk mitigation" measures would be put into place to protect workers.

"Any member who chooses to take this on needs to do so with the knowledge that there's some potential risk," Bischof told CBC Toronto on Saturday.

Province to cover operating costs ofchild-care centres

The government also announced it will helpcover operating costs for child care centres and waive licensing fees during the closures, in an effort to keep them afloat.Child-care providersare currently banned from charging parents if they are shut down.

"We want childcare spaces to exist," Education Minister Stephen Leccesaid on Saturday."It is so consequential to getting parents and families back in the labour market."

Lecce said the funding will be on a case-by-case basis, but a specific amount of money has not beenearmarked for the initiative.

He said the funding will last for a period of months and willalso help centres that previously were not eligible for government funding

Ford said Saturday that Lecceis also expected to announce next week whether or not the school year will be cancelled.

Possible data breach reported at Orchard Villa

Meanwhile, Ontario's Minister of Long-term Care, Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, reported a potential data breach at a Pickering, Ont. long-term care home.

In a tweet on Saturday evening,Fullerton wrote that she learned of "disturbing news" out of Orchard VillaRetirement Residence.

"There is a possibility of a significant privacy breach regarding individual resident personal health info," she wrote in the tweet.

"My heart goes out to the residents and families, during what is already a very difficult time."

Fullerton said she has reached out to the office of Ontario's informationandprivacy commissioner as well as "other authorities as appropriate"

"Our government takes personal privacy very seriously, and we are continuing to monitor this situation closely," she wrote.

Total Ontario case count nears 20,000

Saturday's daily numbers come after an uptick on Fridayof477 new cases. However, daily case counts have been in the 300sthree other times inthepast week.

The rate of growth in cases on Saturday compared to Friday was just 1.8 per cent the lowest it has been since March.

Ontario reported a total of 19,944 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, with 72 per cent of people recovered.

Ontario'sofficial death count sits at 1,599 people.However,data compiledfrom regional public health units by CBCNews puts the death toll at 1,709.

Meanwhile, the number of patients requiring a ventilator dropped slightlyto 158 from 166 reported on Friday.

Some 1,016 patients are hospitalized with the virus, while 203 are in intensive care.

The province reported three more outbreaks at long-term care homes, for a total of 237.

On Friday, the province's top doctor said community spread is responsible for about 55 per cent of the province's newcases. Dr. David Williams called it "perplexing."

Worker dies afteroutbreak atVaughan dairy facility

York Region Public Health says a 57-year-old manhas died and 23 other people tested positive at a dairy facility in Vaughan, Ont.

The cases were at Saputo Dairy Products Canada. The facility does not produce food at this location, according to York Region Public Health.

Public health says itwas notified on April 29, conducteda facilityinspection the next day,and that "all COVID-19 preventionprecautions are in place."

In an emailed statement to CBC Toronto, Saputo said is has "proactively put strict precautionary measures in place at our facilities and are following the advice of governmental health authorities to safeguard the health of all our employees."

Hardware stores allowed toreopen Saturday

Meanwhile, hardware and safety supply stores can open again in Ontario today,as the province slowly reopens some businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Garden centres and nurseries were permitted to open Friday. Retail stores with a street entrancecan start offering curbside pickup on Monday.