COVID-19 pandemic in the Regional Municipality of Peel

The COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The pandemic has affected the Cities of Mississauga and Brampton, and the Town of Caledon, within the Regional Municipality of Peel. As part of the larger closure decisions in Ontario, a stay-at-home order shuttered all nonessential businesses, and caused event cancellations.

For effects of the pandemic in the province, see COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario.

COVID-19 pandemic in the Regional Municipality of Peel
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationRegional Municipality of Peel
Confirmed cases5,965
Active cases474
Hospitalized cases543
Recovered5,186
Deaths
305
Government website
www.peelregion.ca/coronavirus/

As of May 2020, Brampton was considered one of the province's main "hot spots", and a Mississauga nursing home was taken over by the Province after a scathing report from the military.

History

Background

Timeline
  • April 9: Brampton Civic Hospital announced the death of an environmental services associate. He was the first hospital employee in Ontario to die of the disease.[1]
  • May 25: After Premier Doug Ford mentions that the province has "hot spots" for COVID, "lighting up like a Christmas tree," the Ministry of Health revealing that Peel Region is among the hotspots. Ford later narrowed that to Brampton.[2]

Cases

As of 31 May 2020, the following LTC homes in Peel have 10 or more confirmed COVID-19 related deaths:[3][4][5][6]

  • Camilla Care Community LTC (Mississauga) - 64[6]
  • Cooksville Care Centre (Mississauga) - 18[6]
  • Erin Mills Lodge Nursing Home LTC (Mississauga) - 17 [7]
  • Village of Erin Meadows LTC (Mississauga) - 19 [7]
  • Grace Manor (Brampton) - 12[6]
  • Villa Forum (Mississauga) - 10[6]

The outbreak at Camilla Care Community in Mississauga was among Ontario's deadliest, receiving attention from The Washington Post.[8] On May 27, the Province of Ontario announced that it would take over management of the facility for two weeks.[9]

Outbreaks

Outbreaks of COVID have been declared at a number of health facilities. As of May 8, outbreaks were declared at:[10]

  • Bough Beeches Place
  • Burton Manor
  • Camilla Care Community; As of May 7, 48 residents had died of COVID-19.[11]
  • Cooksville Care Centre
  • Erin Mills Lodge Nursing Home
  • Extendicare Brampton
  • Faith Manor Nursing Home
  • Grace Manor
  • Greenway by Revera Retirement Village
  • Ivan Franko Homes
  • King Gardens Place Retirement Home
  • Malton Village
  • Maple Grove Care Community
  • Peel Manor; At least one resident has died at the facility, in mid-April 2020.[12]
  • Regency Retirement Residence
  • Sheridan Villa
  • Silverthorn Care Community
  • Sunrise of Mississauga
  • Tall Pines
  • Trillium Health Partners, Credit Valley Hospital
    • An outbreak was declared March 27,[10] and reported by April 1, after four patients in the rehab unit tested positive.[13] The outbreak ended on May 8.[10]
  • Trillium Health Partners, Mississauga Hospital
  • Villa Forum
  • Village of Erin Meadows
  • Village of Sandalwood Park

In late April, the dormitory-format Ontario Correctional Institute in Brampton was closed after 60 inmates and eight workers tested positive. Inmates were moved to the Toronto South Detention Centre, to allow for a deep clean, and for staff to self-isolate for two weeks.[14][15][16][17]

Government response and aid efforts

Region of Peel continued to hold weekly council meetings.[18]

Mississauga Food Bank looked to raise $840,000 in response to the pandemic. Basketball player RJ Barrett donated $100,000.[19]

Economic impact

Business closures and event cancellations

At least one businesses closed and sent employees home after an employee falsely claim of that a family member had tested positive for COVID-19. He was charged with public mischief.[20]

An employee at Maple Leaf Foods poultry plant in Brampton tested positive; employees who had contact with them were sent home for self-isolation.[21] The company waited 20 days before publicly acknowledging the diagnosis. The number sick grew to 24 by May 6, according to a Peel Public Health statement.[22] Operations at the facility were suspended in early April.[23]

On May 7, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 175 confirmed the death of a Maple Lodge Farms plant's staff members.[24][25]

After a staff member was diagnosed with COVID-19, Mississauga meat producer Sofina Foods ended its overnight shift to allow for cleaning processes.[26]

The ECHL, the league of which the Brampton Beast are part, cancelled the remainder of its season on March 14, 2020.[27]

Three workers at Caledon's Amazon plant have tested positive for COVID-19, as of May 20, 2020.[28]

Impact on religion

After gatherings of more than 5 people were banned, services at all places of worship were cancelled. Various congregations took to live streaming their services, from either the place of worship itself (as is the case with Mississauga's St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church) or remotely. Brampton's Har Tikvah synagogue added other online programming, beyond its normal services. Ontario Khalsa Darbar closed its langar to pickup-only.[29]

As of April 29, the City of Brampton was allowing staff discretion around enforcement of noise by-laws, in relation to mosques broadcasting adhan (a call to prayer) during the month of Ramadan; it was waiting for a staff report on the topic. At the May 6 meeting, council approved a one-time by-law exemption.[30] Mayor Patrick Brown noted that church bells were exempted in the existing by-law.[31]

Mississauga council passed a motion at its April 29 council meeting, allowing mosques to do one adhan each day, which is normally banned by city noise by-law.[32][30] The item was a "walk on item" based on a request by the Muslim Council of Peel, meaning that it wasn't on the public agenda, nor was a staff report on the topic available.[30][33] Since then, two councillors have commented that Mayor Bonnie Crombie provided council with incorrect information on the subject, and that the matter should be revisited. Discussion on the topic has been referred to the City's Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee.[30]

The move and the criticism that followed received international headlines.[34] Ram Subrahmanian, a member of the group Keep Religion Out Of Peel Region Schools, has received donations for an intended court challenge.[35] A spokesperson for Muslim Canadian Congress commented that "many Islamic scholars who have denounced the use of loudspeakers in mosques as against the spirit of Islam."[35]

The decision allowed similar exemptions in communities including Windsor;[36] Toronto announced that it would do the same, if asked.[37]

Closures

Peel Addiction Assessment and Referral Centre, which has 700 clients, restructured its interactions due to physical distancing requirements.[38]

References
  1. "Brampton man 1st Ontario hospital employee to die of COVID-19 as province confirms 483 new cases". CBC News. Toronto ON. April 9, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  2. Carter, Adam (May 25, 2020). "Ontario won't specify COVID-19 'hot spots' even as premier urges testing". CBC News. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  3. "Long-term care homes with the most coronavirus deaths in Canada". Global News.
  4. "List of GTA long-term care facilities, retirement homes impacted by COVID-19 outbreaks". cp24.com. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  5. "Active COVID-19 Outbreaks in Toronto Long Term Care Homes, Retirement Homes and Hospitals, May 1 2020" (PDF). Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  6. "How Ontario is responding to COVID-19". May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  7. "LTC and RH COVID-19 Outbreaks in Peel Region". Peel Region. May 5, 2020.
  8. Coletta, Amanda (May 19, 2020). "Crisis shines a light on shortcomings of long-term care facilities in Canada". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. A15.
  9. Sambo, Paula (May 27, 2020). "Ontario to take management of five more long-term care homes". Bloomberg News. Toronto ON: Bell Media. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  10. "Outbreak report for Peel health care institutions". Peel Public Health. Brampton ON: Region of Peel. May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  11. DeClerq, Katherine (May 7, 2020). "Forty-eight residents at Ontario long-term care home die following COVID-19 outbreak". CTV News. Toronto ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  12. "COVID-19 death at Brampton long-term care centre confirmed by Peel chair Nando Iannicca". Mississauga News. Mississauga ON. April 19, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  13. Draaisma, Muriel (April 1, 2020). "Outbreak of COVID-19 declared at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga as 4 patients test positive". CBC. Toronto ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  14. "Brampton jail shutting down after 60 inmates, 8 staff test positive for COVID-19". CBC. Toronto ON. April 20, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  15. Casey, Liam (April 20, 2020). "COVID-19 outbreak leads to Ontario jail being closed after 60 inmates, eight staff test positive | National Post". National Post. Toronto ON. The Canadian Press. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  16. Gamrot, Sabrina (April 20, 2020). "Brampton OCI set to close for 14 days as inmates transferred to Toronto centre due to coronavirus outbreak". The Brampton Guardian. Brampton ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  17. "OPSEU: Management incompetence led to outbreak at Brampton's Ontario Correctional Institute" (Press release). Toronto ON: OPSEU/SEFPO. April 20, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  18. Common, David (host) (May 9, 2020). Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie updates how COVID-19 is affecting her city (Radio). Toronto ON: CBC Metro Morning.
  19. "RJ Barrett providing 200,000 meals through Mississauga Food Bank". CBC News. Toronto ON. The Canadian Press. April 23, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  20. "Brampton man charged after faking COVID-19 case to get off work: police". CBC News. Toronto ON. March 30, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  21. Hristova, Bobby (April 7, 2020). "Positive COVID-19 tests at Maple Leaf Foods plants in Hamilton and Brampton". CBC News. Hamilton ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  22. Russell, Andrew (May 6, 2020). "After failing to publicly reveal COVID-19 outbreak, Ontario meat plant now has 24 confirmed cases". Global News. Toronto ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  23. "Maple Leaf suspends operations at Brampton poultry plant after three workers contract coronavirus". Toronto ON. The Canadian Press. April 8, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  24. DeClerq, Katherine (May 7, 2020). "Worker at Ontario poultry plant dies after contracting COVID-19". CTV News. Toronto ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  25. Colpitts, Ian (May 8, 2020). "Maple Lodge Farms employee in Brampton dies from coronavirus". The Brampton Guardian. Mississauga ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  26. Brown, Desmond (May 8, 2020). "Two cases of COVID-19 at separate meat processing plants operated by Sofina Foods". CBC News. Hamilton ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  27. Sportsnet Staff (March 14, 2020). "ECHL cancels remainder of 2019-20 season, playoffs due to COVID-19". Sportsnet. Toronto ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  28. Strader, Matthew (May 21, 2020). "Amazon confirms third positive coronavirus test at Bolton warehouse". Caledon Enterprise. Mississauga ON. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  29. Cornwell, Steve (April 24, 2020). "'Great longing' for the church: Brampton and Mississauga faith communities cope with COVID-19 closures". Mississauga News. Mississauga ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  30. Cornwell, Steve (May 9, 2020). "Mississauga councillors critical of Mayor Bonnie Crombie's handling of call to prayer motion". Mississauga News. Mississauga ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  31. Nasser, Shanifa (May 5, 2020). "'Disturbing, Islamophobic' tweet about call to prayer prompts firing of Peel school council chair". CBC. Toronto ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  32. Cornwell, Steve (April 29, 2020). "Mississauga allows mosques to broadcast evening call to prayer during Ramadan". Mississauga News. Mississauga ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  33. Cornwell, Steve (May 7, 2020). "'Haters will be haters': Calls to prayer stir controversy in Brampton and Mississauga". Mississauga News. Mississauga ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  34. MEE staff (May 6, 2020). "Tensions erupt in Canadian city over broadcast of Muslim call to prayer". Middle East Eye. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  35. Fatah, Tarek (May 6, 2020). "FATAH: Mosque loudspeaker saga continues". Toronto Sun. Toronto ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  36. Chhabra, Sameer (May 5, 2020). "Windsor Mosque broadcasts call to prayer over loudspeaker for first time, due to COVID-19 pandemic". CBC. Windsor ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  37. Warmington, Joe (April 29, 2020). "WARMINGTON: Mississauga amends noise bylaw to allow call to prayer". Toronto Sun. Toronto ON. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  38. Cornwell, Steve (May 11, 2020). "'Forced to change': Peel addiction treatment centres see challenges and opportunities in COVID-19 pandemic". The Brampton Guardian. Mississauga ON. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
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