Volume 49 No. 3
BEACHMETRO.COM
March 31, 2020
Donations of sewn masks, protective equipment sought in COVID-19 fight Michael Garron Hospital appeals to community in drive to collect personal protective equipment By Cheska Lim
MICHAEL GARRON Hospital recently launched The PPE Drive asking the public to donate unopened, not expired, personal protective equipment to their facility in response to COVID-19. Created by medical leaders within the hospital community, the website states that the purpose of the campaign is to “support anticipated shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) across the health system”. Please visit the PPE website at www.theppedrive.com for specific information on what items are needed and how to donate them. The hospital has also put out a request for sewn masks. In a tweet on Thursday March 26, @MGHFoundation wrote “#MichaelGarronHospital needs 1,000 masks a week and you can help! If you’re a sewist, or know someone who is, help us meet our challenge”. The challenge the Coxwell Avenue hospital is proposing to the East Toronto community is to sew 1,000 masks per week. On the website at www.mghf. ca/mgh1000masks are detailed instructions on how to make a fabric mask well as, the items needed in order to create them. The website states that fabric masks will not be given to healthcare providers. Instead, the masks will be given to “approved visitors who enter Michael Garron Hospital”, “discharged patients as they reintegrate into the community”, and
will be distributed to the “broader community” in an effort to stop the COVID-19 virus from spreading. “We want to see all east enders wearing a fabric mask when they need to be within six feet of other people,” Medical Director Dr. Jeff Powis said on the challenge’s website, “especially vulnerable populations and the elderly”. Although the hospital received a majority of positive comments upon the #mgh1000masks challenge, some questioned how effective the fabric masks were going to be against preventing the spread of the disease. The University of Sydney in Australia conducted a study in 2015 where they tested to see if cloth masks were just as protective as medical masks. The results came out as negative. In addressing concerns about the usefulness of the cloth masks, Michael Garron Hospital said, “It’s so important that our community follow the important safety advice of public health officials during this pandemic… the fabric masks being sewn in East Toronto are an additional safety measure to keep people safe.” Donated fabric masks can be dropped off at Michael Garron Hospital’s Coxwell lobby between the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. All other donated personal protective equipment can be dropped off at the hospital’s receiving dock on Knight Street, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Social distancing rules will be applied in both situations.
PHOTO: SUSAN LEGGE
Many businesses in East Toronto, including the Fox Theatre on Queen Street East in the Beach, have had to completely close their doors in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Others are not open to the public but are still available for purchases to be made online or by phone.
BIAs call on area residents to help support local businesses By Alan Shackleton
LOCAL BUSINESS Improvement Associations (BIAs) are doing their part to remind East Toronto residents of the importance of continuing to support neighbourhood businesses as the economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis start to sink in. “Shopping local is always important but right now it’s critical,” said Anna Sebert, Executive Director of the Beach Village BIA which serves businesses along Queen Street East between Neville Park Boulevard and Lockwood Road. “The businesses who chose to open in our neighbourhood, invest in our community and serve our residents, need support now more than ever. Keeping them alive is key to a vibrant and healthy local economy,” she said.
To help those businesses, Sebert said the Beach Village BIA is working hard to keep them up to date on the information coming from the federal, provincial and City of Toronto governments. The Beach Village BIA is also helping promote local businesses through social media and on its website which includes a map of all stores and restaurants offering online shopping and delivery options. That website can be accessed at www.thebeachvillage.com/support-local Sebert pointed out that local business owners are often also local residents. “They are our neighbours, our friends and our employers,” she said. “If you have the ability to support with your dollars, please do so by purchasing gift cards, shopping lo-
cally online, or ordering food from your favourite local restaurant. If money is tight, leave a 5 Star review on Google or Facebook for your favourite businesses, and make sure you are following, liking, and sharing them on social media. We will come out of this stronger if we all support each other.” Colin Johnson, Manager of the Danforth Mosaic BIA which serves businesses along Danforth Avenue between Westlake and Jones avenues, also stressed the importance of supporting local business during these extremely challenging times. “Local business is the backbone of Canadian society. Roughly 70 per cent of Canadians are employed by small business,” he said. Johnson said that support from governments will be vital to help Continued on Page 2
Beaches Easter Parade joins list of cancelled events THE ANNUAL Toronto Beaches Lions Club Easter Parade and the celebrations around it including an Egg Hunt for children in Kew Gardens on Good Friday has been officially cancelled for this year due to COVID-19 virus concerns. “At the direction of Toronto Public Health, Public Health Agency of Canada and local officials in re-
sponse to COVID-19 concerns, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Beaches Easter Weekend celebration scheduled for April 10 – 12, 2020,” said a statement issued last Tuesday, March 24. “The safety and well being of our attendees, volunteers, staff and community remain our top priority and as such, we are choosing to
do our part to flatten the COVID-19 curve. We urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials,” said the statement. “Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to next year’s Annual Beaches Easter Weekend Celebration, April 2 – 4, 2021.”
Along with the parade itself on Easter Sunday (April 12) which would have run along Queen Street East in the Beach and regularly draws hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators, other events planned for this coming Easter Weekend in the Beach included a Good Friday Egg Hunt for children at Kew Gardens.
The Easter Parade has been taking place in the Beach since 1967. It was originally routed along the Boardwalk for its first seven years. The Beaches Lions Club became actively involved in 1973, and the next year the parade moved to Queen Street East. By 1981, the Lions had become the parade’s official organizer.