Hello everyone and Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!
We hope you are able to enjoy Mother’s Day as best you can this weekend regardless of how it may look. EMT will be out to your location or may have already been out to drop off a small gift of thanks for you – enjoy, it is more than well deserved!
We do have a number of updates and items to share with you.
Temporary Wage Enhancement
We have received the approval from MCCSS for the April 2021 temporary wage enhancement payments for qualifying employees. The payment will be for hours worked from April 1 to April 30. The payment will be calculated and paid out on Friday, May 14.
Ontario Enacts Legislation to Provide Paid Leave for Reasons Related to COVID-19
On April 29, 2021, the Ontario government tabled and passed Bill 284, COVID-19 Putting Workers First Act, 2021 (Bill). The Bill amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to provide eligible employees with up to three days of paid emergency leave in circumstances of absences relating to a designated infectious disease (Paid IDEL). Covid-19 is a designated infectious disease. The legislation is retroactive to April 19, 2021 and is set to expire on September 26, 2021. While the Bill has passed, there has been little to no direction or guidance on how to implement the legislation. We will provide updates as they are received.
Rapid Testing Survey
There is still time to take part in the survey on voluntary rapid antigen Covid-19 testing. There are opportunities for agencies to provide options for enhanced screening. One option is voluntary rapid antigen testing. We would like your thoughts on rapid testing before we consider steps to apply to the Ministry of Health and offering this option.
Please follow the link below to the survey, it will be open until May 17th – https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=lnx0cr9gukiqfc0TP7Wq_pmCHQ1OyQxEroOpez6iJ9FURDFBMDlNNUkzSU9KSFEwSUlXUkU3SDZORi4u
Thank you in advance from EMT for participating!
Vaccine Update
We are extremely encouraged on how the vaccine rollout has progressed for the people we support, employees and caregivers. The numbers are changing daily. To date we have had approximately:
- 77 people we support receive a vaccine
- 134 employees receive a vaccine
- 50 essential caregivers and people supported in Host Family receive a vaccine
We anticipate that every person we support in group living homes that has consented to receive a vaccine will do so by May 12. Thank you to everyone for your flexibility and dedication in making this happen and thank you to Krista McCann for working diligently behind the scenes with Lambton Public Health.
Individuals with health conditions and their caregivers are able to register and receive their vaccine. Please see the link here to Lambton Public Health for more details – https://lambtonpublichealth.ca/2019-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines/health-conditions/
People in this category can now directly self-register online. It is strongly recommended that you consult with your primary care provider regarding the risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccines. You will be asked to confirm and attest to your eligibility when registering.
LCDS Face Masks
We have received many requests to purchase the cloth LCDS Face Masks that we were able to source. We will provide more details soon on availability, cost and how to order. Stay tuned.
OASIS (Ontario Agencies Supporting Individuals with Special Needs)
You may or may not know, LCDS was a founding member of OASIS (Ontario Agencies Supporting Individuals with Special Needs). OASIS provides leadership through sharing ideas, information and knowledge, and interacts with government and other organizations on issues affecting its members. OASIS advocates on behalf of the Developmental Services Sector and works with government to bring key issues forward. OASIS has grown with over 190 member agencies province-wide.
Below you will find the OASIS April 2021 newsletter. It regularly provides information on key developments in the sector and committee and agency updates. We will continue to share the monthly newsletters with you.
Thank you everyone for all you do. Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!
Sincerely,
EMT
Lambton County Developmental Services
