The COVID-19 pandemic was a viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The pandemic has affected the Cities of Mississauga and Brampton, and the Town of Caledon, within the Regional Municipality of Peel. As part of the larger closure decisions in Ontario, a stay-at-home order shuttered all nonessential businesses, and caused event cancellations.
As early as May 2020, Peel was considered one of the province's main "hot spots", in particular Brampton. That month, a Mississauga nursing home was taken over by the Province after a scathing report from the military.
As of December 2020, a third of Peel's workplace outbreaks have been in manufacturing or industrial settings.
Background
William Osler Health System asked Brampton City Council for municipal funding, at a December 13, 2019 meeting. An emergency declaration was considered, but withdrawn. Brampton's Peel Memorial Urgent Care Centre was designed for 10,000 patients a year, and operated at 75,000 patients a year receiving funding for 15,000. Brampton had the lowest per capita hospital beds in Ontario, with 0.9 per 1000 residents, compared to the provincial average of 2.3. It also had the lowest per capita funding in Ontario, and Canada's second lowest rate.
In January 2020, CBC News reports that overcrowding — Code Gridlock — is routine in Ontario hospitals. Following the release of this report, and a presentation by a group of doctors, Brampton City Council voted unanimously in favour of declaring a "health care emergency" in the city, citing chronic overcrowding of Brampton Civic Hospital, its only full hospital facility.
Timeline 2020 January January 22: Novel coronavirus becomes a mandatory reportable disease for Ontario health units. January 23: Region of Peel Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jessica Hopkins tells council that risk of the novel coronavirus is low in Peel. January 27: Peel District School Board advises that it's working with authorities, but no changes will be made at school level. It instructs parents to not send students to school with masks. January 29: Brampton CAO David Barrick reports to council about the City's response to the novel coronavirus. January 30: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Brampton for a press conference. During questions, he comments on the virus, including concerns about Canadians in China. Canadian Press interviews a Mississauga father, whose daughter was in Wuhan.
February February 29: Peel Public Health learns that someone with COVID-19 had attended work in the Region for three days, before self-isolating. The workplace was not in Brampton, and the worker lived outside of Peel.
March March 5: Peel confirms its first case of COVID-19, a Mississauga man who had travelled on the Grand Princess cruise ship from February 11 to 21. His wife was confirmed as the second carrier. March 8: A man returning from Germany tests positive for COVID-19 at Brampton Civic Hospital. March 9: Dr. Jessica Hopkins, the region's Medical Officer of Health, announces her departure. Dr. Lawrence Loh assumes the role of interim Medical Officer of Health. March 10: An entire floor of Royal Bank of Canada's Meadowvale office tower is told to self-quarantine, after a worker tests positive. March 21: Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown comments in an interview that he expects that COVID-19 will "not be a matter of weeks, it's going to be a matter of months," contrary to most government suggestions at the time. March 23: Mississauga declares a state of emergency. March 24: Brampton declares a state of emergency. March 25: Liberal MP for Brampton West Kamal Khera tests positive for COVID-19. Peel Addiction Assessment and Referral Centre, which has 700 clients, restructured its interactions due to physical distancing requirements.
April April 9: Brampton Civic Hospital announced the death of an environmental services associate. He was the first hospital employee in Ontario to die of the disease. April 18: Mississauga reports 137 new cases of COVID-19, which would remain its daily peak as of July 15. April 27: Personal support worker Arlene Reid, who worked at multiple venues in Peel, dies of COVID-19. She is the first long-term care worker death in Peel. Her daughter alleges that two shifts at Holland Christian Home were worked without PPE being offered, which the LTC denies.
May May 25: After Premier Doug Ford mentions that the province has "hot spots" for COVID, "lighting up like a Christmas tree," the Ministry of Health revealing that Peel Region is among the hotspots. Ford later narrowed that to Brampton. May: Mississauga Food Bank looked to raise $840,000 in response to the pandemic. Basketball player RJ Barrett donated $100,000.
June June 6, 7, 17: Black Lives Matter-related protests held at Brampton's Chinguacousy Park, Mississauga's Celebration Square, and the Peel District School Board headquarters. At a June 24 press conference, Dr. Lawrence Loh commented that there was no evidence that these events impacted case numbers. June 24: Peel Region was given the go-ahead to enter Stage 2 of reopening.
July July 2: Dr. Lawrence Loh accepts the position of Medical Officer of Health on a permanent basis. July 15: Peel Health reports no new cases of COVID-19 in Mississauga, for the first time since March 22. July 25: Over 200 people attend a house party in Brampton. The event is broken up by bylaw officers; the organizer was issued a $880 fine. Premier Ford calls the hosts and guests "a bunch of yahoos", suggesting that they should receive the $100,000 fine, through the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.. Also includes a video report by Global's Catherine McDonald. July 31: Peel Region was allowed by the provincial government to enter Stage 3 of reopening.
October October 10: Due to an increase in cases, Peel region was knocked back to a modified Stage 2, along with Toronto, Ottawa - and as of October 19, 2020, York Region. The measures included the closure of indoor dining in bars and restaurants, and the closure of gyms, movie theatres and casinos. The measures are in effect for 28 days.
November November 6: Due to move out of the modified Stage 2, Premier Ford announced that Peel Region would instead move into a Red-level in the provinces new colour-coded restriction system. November 7: The region of Peel legislated restrictions that are more stringent than the provincial red-level restrictions. November 14: Peel Region Police and Brampton bylaw officers bust a large gathering at Gurdwara Nanaskar Temple in Brampton after hundreds of people attended. Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown confirmed that major fines were issued. November 18: Some 58 staff at Tyndall Senior's Village in Mississauga have active cases of COVID, as well as 30 residents. In a two-week period, 171 total cases had been identified. November 20: Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Peel Region along with nearby Toronto would be placed on the lockdown category according to the new response framework, effective November 23. Under these orders, bars and restaurants would be restricted to take-out, drive-thru and delivery services only, no private gatherings outside of one's household, cinemas, casinos, gyms and fitness centres must close. Non-essential retail stores will be shuttered, with curb-side pickup and delivery services allowed, and sports and recreation activities must suspend operations. The film and television industry can remain open under Control (red) level restrictions. Schools and childcare would remain open while post-secondary education would move into virtual learning (with exceptions for those that require in-person training).
December December 9: Health Canada approved the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in Canada. Trillium Health Partners announces that 36 staff at its three sites, two of which are in Mississauga, are self-isolating after contracting COVID-19. December 10: The Globe and Mail reports that, while Toronto and Ottawa will receive vaccines from Ontario early enough to begin immunization on December 15, Peel would have to wait. At the time, Ottawa was not under lockdown; the province claims its priority spot was in order to test how it would ship the product. Mayor Brown tells CityNews that he expects this to be corrected immediately, lest it show favoritism to other regions over data. An epidemiologist in the same story asked rhetorically why Peel hasn't received additional resources and surveillance testing. December 16: Mississauga News reports that Trillium Health Partners has transferred 30 patients since November 30, amid a COVID-19 surge. December 17: Brampton releases a short film, The Spread, hoping to "drive an emotional response from viewers." A source tells the National Post that Amazon warehouses in Ontario have seen more than 400 COVID-19 cases. Peel has four warehouses for the company, and while the Region does not disclose the location of outbreaks, give of the top six workplace outbreaks were at "distribution centres." December 21: Trillium Health opens a COVID vaccine clinic. Bella Rego, a registered nurse at Camilla Care Community, is the first recipient. Rego had spent a month in self-isolation at home, after testing positive for the virus in April. December 22: A vaccine clinic opens at Brampton Civic Hospital. Vilma Whyte, a personal support worker from Tullamore Care Community, is the first to receive the vaccine. The hospital aimed for 300 vaccinations a day in coming weeks. Trillium Health issues a press release looking to hire doctors, for "temporary pandemic needs across our sites." December 30: The Toronto Star publishes an opinion piece, noting among other things that warehouse workers are generally temporary agency employees, without basic benefits or workplace protections like paid sick leave. Amazon employs based on speed, not factoring in the impact of physical distancing requirements. December 31: Personal support workers stop attending the home of a senior in Mississauga, after he and his wife became ill with COVID-19. Having late-stage dementia and with after-effects of a stroke, the man requires two PSWs to visit a washroom, and so for days was left soiled in his home. In an effort to discourage gatherings on the holiday, it was announced that Brampton Transit, Miway (Mississauga Transit), (like other surrounding transit agencies in the Greater Toronto Area, such as Metrolinx (which operates GO Transit), York Region Transit, Oakville Transit, and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)) that they will not offer extended or fare free evening or overnight transit on New Year's Eve as they have done in past years.
2021 January January 5: Maureen Ambersley, a registered practical nurse at Extendicare Mississauga, dies of COVID-19. She is the second long-term care employee to die in Peel, the fourth member of the Service Employees International Union.
March March 12: A Brampton Amazon warehouse is shut down due to a major COVID-19 outbreak. The outbreak at the warehouse has been linked to over 600 infections since October, nearly half of them in the last month.
April April 22: Emily Viegas dies of COVID, at age 13, one of the youngest deaths in Canada. Viegas' father was hesitant to admit her to hospital, as he worried that she would be moved from Brampton Civic Hospital to another facility; her mother was already hospitalized. The Local publishes an article titled "You Can't Stop the Spread of the Virus if You Don't Stop it in Peel", which had been turned down by four other media outlets. A summary of the issues locally, it is later credited as a turning-point in provincial response, by Rogers Media.