Dear Residents,

I hope everyone is keeping safe and healthy during this difficult time.

A quick reminder that all grocery & liquor stores are closed Good Friday and Easter Sunday and liquor stores are also closed on Monday. A much needed break for all the employees. If you are shopping it's always a good idea to say "Thank You" for continuing to work and be safe.

A Big thank you to all of you who are staying home and following the guidelines of social distancing - it's not easy, but extremely necessary. This weekend many of us are celebrating Easter and Passover - please stay home with your immediate family. We ask that you do not visit relatives and do not attend or host Easter dinners with anyone outside of who you live with. More of us are starting to get used to the idea of connecting virtually. Something that was only used in business to connect, has now become the norm for many of us, to stay connected to the ones we love, to keep our friends, family and the vulnerable safe. 

We have a number of updates to share with you which we hope will be informative:

On April 20th at 9am - Council will be holding our first virtual General Committee meeting and on 21st at 9am we will be holding a Development Services meeting. Our challenge will be to ensure that the public can participate in all meetings. Details of how this will happen are still being worked through. 

Tuesday April 14th, 2020 at 7pm

We invite you to join Mayor Frank Scarpitti, York Region Medical Officer of Health Dr. Karim Kurji and Members of Council on a video chat using ZOOM. We want to connect with you, share information and hear your take. Share the link with your friends and family (www.zoom.us/my/cityofmarkham) and follow the City of Markham on Twitter and Facebook for the livestream.

There has been some confusion on what is actually closed and open in our parks and trails.
City of Markham trails and parks are open, but everyone needs to continue practicing social distancing of a minimum of 2m. Playground equipment, basketball, tennis courts and benches are closed. Do not congregate on bridges or in parking lots. To keep us safe, all York Region Forests are closed to the public.
You can Subscribe to York Region e-newsletter to receive updates related to YR.

Most summer events are being cancelled, including my annual BBQ. Hopefully, we will be able to organize another type of event later in the year. I will keep you posted.

I'm providing you with a revised list of our local Federal (MP) or Provincial (MPP) government, as the list previously provided was missing some links. You can also see further down this page a Government Structure chart showing the roles and responsibilities of each level of government in COVID-19 emergency. Here are their contacts:

Full details and the COVID-19 impacted cost to the City can be read HERE. 

The Province has closed more non-essential businesses, if you are not sure if you can stay open you can call 1.888.444.3659 or check the website HERE.

I am receiving complaints about businesses open when they should be closed - any violations can be reported to YRP and they will investigate and follow up. Sometimes, it is just an owner that was not aware.

More restrictions have been put in place for non-essential construction and if anyone has any complaints about the safety of the job site and social distancing please call the Ministry of Labour at 1.877.202.0008

Our library staff is working with a partner who is certified in health care and they are helping to make face shields with our 3D printer for our front line workers, and also sewing homemade masks.

                                           THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR HEROES

Thank you and be safe!

Regards,

Karen 

See video
View COVID-19 model - Ontario Government 

I have been asked to provide the number of infected cases in York Region and in particular Markham.
At the time of making up this newsletter the current number of cases are:
Markham - 134
NewMarket - 35
Richmond Hill - 84
Vaughan - 295

For full details of all York Region Municipailities check the YR website - data is updated frequently

Each York Region hospital will manage their assessment centre based on their operational capacity. Check your local hospital’s website for specific hours of operation and procedures.

 If you have extra N95 masks and gloves please consider donating them to local nursing homes, hospitals and health facilities. Markhaven, our local seniors nursing home is in need of surgery isolation masks and gowns. A donation bin is outside their front entrance. 
**** URGENT Participation House is in need of PPE - breakout just announced ****

NEW ON WASTE -  Used tissues, and napkins, need to be placed in regular garbage, along with gloves and masks during the pandemic.They can be a source of contamination. Do not litter our parks and streets with masks and gloves. 

Markham’s Textile Recycling Program is continuing to operate. All textile bins are fully operational. 
Dumping is illegal! If you notice a donation bin overloading, please report to our contact centre at 905.475.5530.

A reminder that all Markham recyling depots are now closed.

More updates at COVID-19 Affected City Services 

Thank you to all of you who sponsored  my  360° Experience!

On the night of March 5, 2020, I experienced for the third time, homelessness, along with Heather Tillock, my partner for the evening. With $3.00 each and a bus ticket we set off at 8pm to our first stop Blue Door in Newmarket - have you tried to take transit with all the construction on Yonge - it is quite the challenge and at one stop the bus driver refused to open the door (apparently we were not at a correct VIVA stop). Walking further north, we finally managed to hop on a bus to Newmarket station - a tour of Mobyss, a mobile health clinic for students and then off in the cold again to make our way to Blue Door - a shelter for families and a separate shelter for men. Next stop was Belinda's Place. By now it was about 2.30 am and we set off to find somewhere warm to sleep. We decided to try our luck at the Hospital and once there, we had enough funds to split a hot chocolate and each have a tea biscuit in their 24 hour cafe. We were fourtunate not to get kicked out. some were not so lucky. Around 5.30 am we left and walked back up to the hub to share our stories. We did it for one night, many youth are outside for many nights.

With the COVID-19 crisis, our youth need more than ever to continue to have our support. If possible, please continue to support this organization and make a contribution to reach their target for the 360experience. Thank you!

Members of the community can donate to the Markham Food Bank at the following link:  https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/markham-food-bank/