The region will open two emergency child care centres on Thursday for people who work in critical positions.
The province has a list of what those roles are, and they include police officers, firefighters, paramedics, correctional officers, a coroner, and some government employees.
The region’s chief administrative officer Mike Murray says a full list is available on the region’s website on the COVID-19 Community Supports page.
“There is a link to an online application process that’s relatively straightforward,” Murray said.
Mask or no mask?
If you’ve gone to the store for groceries or to pick up medications, you may have noticed people wearing masks.
But healthy people in the general public don’t need to wear masks, says Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the acting medical officer of health for the Region of Waterloo.
“For people that are having symptoms or have been told by their healthcare provider to wear a mask, yes, masks are or can be effective in those situations. For people who do not have symptoms, we’re not recommending these people go around wearing masks,” Wang said during a media briefing Wednesday.
That advice comes from provincial and federal health officials who are continually assessing new research and evidence.
There’s also another important reason not to use them: Limited supply. Wang says with more people like healthcare workers needing the masks, if people who don’t need them are using them too, it will deplete the supply.
“We have to make sure that our use of personal protective equipment is as judicious as possible and reserved for those patients and healthcare workers that need it the most,” Wang said.
Waterloo region case numbers
As of Wednesday, Waterloo region had 117 cases of COVID-19. There have been two deaths: A man in his 40s and a man in his 50s. Both were patients at St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener.
The graph below shows the number of cases in Waterloo region. The region will update case numbers again on Friday. Updates are provided on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Region of Waterloo Public Health is not testing everyone with symptoms. It has said that it is reserving testing for priority cases, including healthcare workers, hospital patients and people in long-term care facilities.
People experiencing mild symptoms are being asked to stay home and self-isolate.
People who do not have symptoms may go out for essentials, but are asked to keep a physical distance of at least two metres between themselves and other people who are not members of their household.
