COVID-19 Timeline

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COVID-19 Timeline

Timeline

2019
First cases

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Wuhan, China reports a number of cases of pneumonia, which turn out to be identified as a novel coronavirus.

2020
WHO issues technical guidance

The World Health Organization issues technical guidance on how to detect, test and manage potential cases.

China publicly shares the genetic sequence of COVID-19.

First recorded case outside of China

Thailand officials confirm a case of COVID-19, the first recorded case outside of China.

First COVID-positive patient in Ontario

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ONA participates in a call with Minister of Health Christine Elliott and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams to advise key stakeholders that the first COVID-positive patient was in hospital at Sunnybrook.

First presumptive case of the novel coronavirus in Canada

A Toronto man who returned from Wuhan becomes the first presumptive case of the novel coronavirus in Canada. He is placed in isolation in Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital.

ONA creates a COVID-19 website page

ONA creates a COVID-19 website page that includes government updates, and health and safety precautions.

ONA holds a Telephone Town Hall

ONA holds a Telephone Town Hall to answer members’ questions regarding the 2019 novel coronavirus.

ONA and CUPE meet with Health Minister and Chief Medical Officer of Health

ONA and CUPE meet with the Health Minister and Chief Medical Officer of Health about COVID-19 transmission and protecting health-care workers.

Canada’s first community contracted case

In British Columbia, Canada’s first-ever case is contracted within the community rather than through travel or contact with other cases.

Canada’s first COVID-19 death

Canada records its first death from COVID-19, a man in his 80s died at a North Vancouver nursing home.

ONA learns that the government is taking the position that the virus is spread via droplets and not airborne

Ontario government Labour Table meets with ONA President Vicki McKenna. ONA learns that the government is taking the position that the virus is spread via droplets and is not airborne. Airborne precautions (including N95s) are only required during aerosol generating medical procedures (AGMPs).

 

This change in direction deeply concerns ONA as it is not consistent with the precautionary principle as described by Justice Campbell in the SARS Commission report.

WHO declares COVID-19 to be a pandemic
WHO declares COVID-19 to be a pandemic. Canada has more than 100 recorded cases.
Call for honest collaboration with the government

ONA, OCHU, CUPE, OPSEU and SEIU call for honest collaboration with the government regarding guidelines for COVID-19 protection for health-care workers and their patients.

CMOH releases Directive #1

The Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) releases Directive #1. If the CMOH thinks that there exists or there may exist an immediate risk to the health of persons anywhere in Ontario, he or she may issue a directive to respecting precautions to be followed to protect the health of persons in Ontario.

Ontario declares a state of emergency

Directive #2 issued

Directive #2 is issued, cancelling all non-essential and elective surgeries.

Government order on work redeployment

Government order on work redeployment. This order applies only to hospitals and not to long-term care. ONA was notified by the Ministry of Health that the order was coming but there was no further consultation.

CMOH issues Directive #3 applicable to long-term care

The Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) issues Directive #3 applicable to long-term care. Residents were not permitted to leave the home for short-stay absences.

N95s negotiation

The Ministry of Health and Ministry of Labour contact ONA to negotiate an agreement regarding the usage of N95s and other appropriate PPE.

ONA negotiates with government regarding principles for PPE and protecting health-care workers

ONA negotiates with government regarding principles for PPE and protecting health-care workers. At the end of negotiations, ONA learns it is for hospitals and RNs only.

The Ministry of Health issues “COVID-19 Outbreak Guidance for Long-Term Care Homes”

The Ministry of Health issues “COVID-19 Outbreak Guidance for Long-Term Care Homes.”

Death toll reaches 100 in Canada

The CMOH revises Directive #3

The Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) revises Directive #3 noting that all staff and visitors are to wear surgical masks, whether the home is in outbreak or not.

ONA issues a media release about Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit offering early retirement packages in the middle of a pandemic

The CMOH revises Directive #5

The Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) revises Directive #5 to include all health-care workers and covers long-term care homes and retirement homes. N95s were mandated where an aerosol generating medical procedure was anticipated or required.

Canada surpasses 1,000 deaths

Emergency Order “Limiting Work to a Single Retirement Home” is issued

Emergency order Limiting Work to a Single Retirement Home is issued. ONA was advised that the Ministry of Long-Term Care could not bar agency staff from working in multiple homes because the homes were too reliant on agencies for their staffing needs.

ONA sought an order requiring the homes to comply with Directives 3 and 5

ONA files an application in the courts seeking an injunction and a court order on behalf of ONA members in four homes. ONA sought an order requiring the homes to comply with Directives 3 and 5.

Ontario and Quebec, the hardest-hit provinces, call on the military to help in their LTC homes

Canada hits 50,000 cases

ONA and the Participating Nursing Homes proceed to arbitration before Arbitrator John Stout

ONA and the Participating Nursing Homes proceed to arbitration before Arbitrator John Stout. He issues an award that addresses PPE, infection control measures and resident and staff cohorting among other issues.

Canada completes its millionth COVID-19 test

The death toll in Canada passes 5,000

ONA learns of the death of an ONA member due to COVID-19. Brian Beattie, RN, worked at Kensington Village in London

The Chief Medical Officer of Health revises Directive #3 to allow limited admissions to restart

ONA writes to Minister Fullerton

ONA writes to Minister Fullerton requesting an independent public inquiry into long-term care.

A new report from the military helping in five LTC facilities reveals extreme neglect and exposes the horrific conditions residents were facing

Canada officially records more than 100,000 cases of COVID-19

ONA President Vicki McKenna releases a video on ONA’s website talking about the impact the government’s Bills will have on members, and ONA’s actions to advocate against these bills.
 
ONA calls this day a dark day for the province’s registered nurses and health-care professionals as the Ford government passes Bills 195 and 197

Update on Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission

The government announces the terms of reference and the commissioners for Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission.

Final report from the military released

Canada takes a major step toward producing PPE, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford announce an agreement with 3M

Lakeridge Health informs ONA that it is cutting 14 RNs from several of its units as it seeks to balance its budget

MOH informs ONA that it will not exclude social workers from working as care coordinators

After months of meetings and lobbying on behalf of social workers, the Ministry of Health (MOH) informs ONA that it will not exclude social workers from working as care coordinators under the new home care regulation.

Canada enters the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

ONA launches a province-wide advertising campaign on Thanksgiving Monday

Canada’s COVID-19 case count hits the 200,000 mark

ONA is pleased to learn of the government’s proposal to increase direct hours of care for residents in long-term care to four hours per day

Canada’s COVID-19 case count exceeds 300,000

Federal health officials announce Canada has purchase agreements with seven COVID-19 vaccine producers

Trudeau says most Canadians should receive the COVID-19 vaccine by September 2021

Canada records more than 400,000 cases of COVID-19, just 18 days after it hits the 300,000 mark

The first doses of the Pfizer vaccine are administered to people in Quebec and Ontario

Ontario confirms Canada’s first known cases of the U.K. coronavirus variant involve a couple from the Durham Region

The Ontario government says it expects to vaccinate approximately 8.5 million people by the end of June 2021 against COVID-19

2021
A health-care worker in Toronto becomes the first person in Ontario to receive a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

ONA is deeply disappointed in the news that several people in positions of authority in the province have left the country to vacation during the pandemic
The COVID-19-related death toll in Ontario surpasses 5,000

ONA is outraged at the provincial government’s denial to exempt the front-line RNs, NPs and health-care professionals from its wage-suppression legislation, Bill 124

The one-year anniversary of the first case in Ontario – provincial case count sits at 256,960

ONA writes an open letter to Premier Doug Ford requesting that Ontario’s directives be revised to recognize precautions for airborne transmission

The COVID-19-related death toll across the province surpasses the 6,000 mark

Brazilian COVID-19 variant found in Toronto

The first round of COVID-19 vaccinations is completed in all Ontario long-term care homes

Ford government announces the province’s first known case of the South African coronavirus variant in Mississauga

ONA files an urgent judicial review application to seek changes to directives to recognize and protect against the grave risks to health-care workers from COVID-19 – including aerosol and asymptomatic transmission.

Canada approves the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine, making it the third shot officially authorized in the country

ONA launches a province-wide advertising campaign featuring its own members – urging Ontarians to take comfort in knowing that registered nurses and health-care professionals continue to be there, holding the line as the COVID-19 pandemic continues

The COVID-19-related death toll across the province surpasses the 7,000 mark

The Ontario government says it is aiming to have all eligible residents who wish to get a COVID-19 vaccine to have their first dose completed by June 20

Ontario announces that 325 pharmacies in Toronto, Windsor-Essex, Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington will begin providing COVID-19 vaccinations using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

More than a million COVID-19 vaccines administered

Health Minister Christine Elliot announces that more than a million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the province.

The Ontario government activates an “emergency brake” for four weeks across the entire province

The Ford government declares the province’s third state of emergency amid the COVID-19 pandemic and is issuing a provincewide stay-at-home order that will last for a minimum of four weeks

The Ontario government advises ONA that it is enacting a new emergency order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA)

The Ontario government advises ONA that it is enacting a new emergency order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) to permit Ontario Health and the Home & Care Community Support Services (HCCSS), to redeploy staff to hospitals to address capacity and staffing pressures during the third wave of COVID-19.

Ontario reports 4,456 coronavirus cases, setting the record for a number of new cases in a 24-hour period

The province announces that another 700 pharmacies are joining the COVID-19 vaccine rollout

ONA holds a telephone town hall meeting

ONA holds a telephone town hall meeting and Facebook live event to cover the latest developments on redeployment, COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, vaccine rollouts, implications of the third wave, changes to Directives, PPE and an update on ONA’s judicial review application.

The Long-Term Care COVID Commission releases its final report

The Honourable Frank N. Marrocco, Angela Coke, and Dr. Jack Kitts, Commissioners of Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission, submitted their Final Report to the Minister of Long-Term Care on April 30, 2021.

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