COVID-19 – Coronavirus
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an international pandemic on the Corona Virus and COVID-19. The Government of Canada has recognized this as a significant health issue and cautions Canadians to take the appropriate steps to avoid contracting the virus which causes COVID-19 and to seek medical treatment and quarantine if and when necessary.
The Government of Canada has established a program to help both businesses and workers during this time. To find out more about this program please go to https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/03/11/prime-minister-outlines-canadas-covid-19-response.
The Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) is working with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) to provide advice and support to businesses about the COVID19 epidemic. The CCC has established a Pandemic Preparedness for Business Program along with a number of valuable tools for business. This can be accessed at http://www.chamber.ca/resources/pandemic-preparedness/.
While businesses are free to set their own policies as it relates to sick leave, compensation and benefits and related issues so long as they comply with any federal or provincial laws and regulations, many businesses are having employees work from home, avoid attending large events and taking preventative health measures.
The Region of Peel Health Department is the local health agency providing advice and support and working with both the federal and provincial public health agencies. Peel Public Health is the best place to gain valuable and up to date information about COVID19 as it relates to our local community. Please go to http://peelregion.ca/coronavirus/#cases for information and links to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Peel Region remains a low risk area, however we should employ the necessary precautions to keep our employees and customers safe. As of March 12, 2020 – 2:00 PM, Peel Region Health reports 6 confirmed cases of Corona Virus and no deaths. 2 cases were presented to Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, 3 were presented to Brampton Civic Hospital and 1 was presented out of hospital.
COVID-19 is the disease caused by the Corona Virus. The virus was named due to it’s shape under an electron microscope. It forms the shape of a crown, hence the name Corona, which is Latin for crown. The name COVID-19 is the code for this particular disease. CO & VI stands for Corona Virus, the D means disease and the number 19 denotes the year of discovery.
The Mississauga Board of Trade will remain open to serve our clients and members, with limited staff on site. All MBOT staff are available by phone and email as the majority of the team will work remotely. All MBOT events for the remainder of March have been canceled. All committee meetings will be conducted virtually by conference call and/or Go To Meeting link until further notice. Our April events are being rescheduled except for Membership Matters and Good Morning Mississauga, which have been canceled. We anticipate resuming normal operations by the end of April 2020.
