• To book a COVID vaccine appointment in Middlesex-London, go to covidvaccinelm.ca or call 226-289-3560 (8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Monday to Sunday).
• You may be able to book a vaccine through a pharmacy. Click here for a list of participating locations.
• To check whether you are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, please visit the Middlesex-London Health Unit website.
• You can find information about the provincial vaccination plan and future eligibility here.

My office can help you determine whether you are currently eligible for a vaccine or how to book one. We can also help you find information about upcoming eligibility. However, my staff and I cannot book vaccination appointments.

Click here to go to peggysattler.ca/covid19resources and find an organized list of resources including 

• Business Resources
• Children & Family Resources
• Community Resources
• Education Resources
• Legal Resources
• Mental Health Resources
• Neighbours Helping Neighbours
• Seniors Resources
• Violence and Abuse

Click here to visit my resource page.

*** Please note that the province will cover the cost of COVID-19 services for uninsured people who do not meet the criteria for OHIP coverage. ***

The Middlesex-London Health Unit and its partners recommend the following:

Getting tested for COVID-19

Please click here to see up-to-date information about getting tested for COVID019.

Physical Distancing

Please continue to follow public health guidance as Ontario cautiously reopens. The Middlesex-London Health Unit recommends:

• Gather outdoors as much as possible.
• If you’re gathering indoors, ensure everyone is fully vaccinated.
• Whether indoors or outdoors, please continue to keep your distance from others and wear a mask.

Click here to see up-to-date recommendations from MLHU. 

Masks and Face Coverings

Face coverings are mandated in all public indoor settings within Ontario, such as businesses, facilities, and workplaces with limited exemptions.

Some people should self-isolate.

On May 21, 2021, the Ontario Government updated its Public Health Guidance on Testing and Clearance for COVID-19. 

Self-isolation:

• Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 should self-isolate immediately and be tested at an Assessment Centre.
• If you test positive and have mild to moderate symptoms, you will be directed by public health to self-isolate for 10 days.
• If you test positive and have severe symptoms requiring hospitalization and/or ICU support, or are immune compromised, you will be directed by public health to self-isolate for 20 days.
• If you test negative, you must self-isolate until you no longer have a fever and your symptoms have improved for 24 hours.

Learn how to self-isolate at home
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Some people must quarantine.

There are new quarantine requirements within London and Middlesex County for household members of individuals who have symptoms of COVID-19.

If a household member has symptoms of COVID-19 but has not yet been tested:

• All other household members should quarantine (i.e. not attend work, school, child care, etc).
• If it is decided that the symptomatic individual will not get tested for COVID-19, all household members are to remain in quarantine for 14 days.

If a household member has symptoms of COVID-19 and has been tested:

• All household members are to quarantine (i.e. not attend work, school, child care, etc.) until test results are known.
• If test results are negative, non-symptomatic household members may return to their normal activities and monitor themselves for symptoms. The symptomatic individual must remain in self-isolation until 24 hours after their symptoms have improved.
• If tests results are positive, the individual who tested positive will be contacted by Health Unit staff with further direction.

Quarantine for 14 days if:

• You have been exposed to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case and you don’t have COVID-19-like symptoms.
  • All other household members who are not close contact are required to stay home except for essential reasons (i.e. work, school. childcare, groceries, medical appointments or picking up prescriptions) for the duration of the close contact's quarantine period.
• You have returned from travelling abroad (i.e. anywhere outside Canada) and you don’t have COVID-19-like symptoms.
• A household member has symptoms of COVID-19 and decides not to get tested.

Click here for up-to-date information about quarantine requirements.

Driver's licenses, license plates, health cards, and a number of other products that expire on or after March 1, 2020, will remain valid until further notice. This is to reduce the number of people visiting Service Ontario locations. You may still renew many products online.

In addition, as DriveTest centres are operating with reduced services, any seniors or professional drivers who require testing to renew their licenses have been automatically granted an extension. If you paid for a DriveTest examination that was cancelled, you will be credited for a test at a later date.

Infectious Disease Emergency Leave is job-protected leave for workers who are in self-isolation or quarantine, or those who need to take time off work to care for their children or other relatives. It also eliminates the requirement for workers to provide sick notes. Workers who need to make use of this leave should tell their employers that they will be taking the emergency leave. They do not have to take vacation, sick days, or other allotted paid time off. 

Effective April 29, 2020, employers are now required to provide eligible employees with up to three of these days of paid infectious disease leave. Employees are entitled to the lesser of $200 or their regular wages for the day, excluding any overtime pay or shift premium.

These paid sick days are only available to employees who are covered by the Employment Standards Act, and do not apply to gig workers, independent contractors or federally regulated employees. Employees who are already entitled to three days or more of paid sick time through their employer are not entitled to additional days.

Please click here for more details.

The federal government also offers the Canadian Recovery Sickness Benefit, which provides $500 per week to individuals who lose at least 50% of their pay for a work week, and who do not receive other sick pay for the same period. Get more details here.

Find Government Benefits

The Government of Canada has released a web-based benefits finder tool to help people living in Canada determine which government benefits programs best meet their needs. The tool includes provincial benefit programs. 

The CBC has created an online hub of benefits the federal government, provinces and territories are offering to people financially affected by the coronavirus. By answering a few simple questions, you can find out which benefits are available to you.

Provincial Support

Emergency Assistance - If you are in an emergency situation and you live in Ontario, you might be eligible for Emergency Assistance.  The amount you get will depend on your specific situation.

Please note that this program is now more flexible due to COVID-19, so even if you have not been able to access it before, you may be able to now. The limit on receiving funding only once in a six-month period has been suspended, and people can receive the funding for up to 48 days without submitting a full Ontario Works application. Individuals can apply for these benefits at Ontario.ca/community.

COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program - The COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) provides support to residential customers struggling to pay their energy bills because of the COVID-19 emergency. CEAP provides a one time, on-bill credit to eligible residential electricity and natural gas customers to help them catch up on their energy bills and resume regular payments. There is an application webform available on www.londonhydro.com. Customers can complete the form directly online, print the form for completion and mail in, or contact London Hydro customer service at 519-661-5503 to have an agent complete the form on the customer's behalf with the customer on the line.

Ontario Works clients who do not report income will no longer be automatically suspended, and will not require hard copy identification for the time being. OW and ODSP staff also have more flexibility in providing discretionary benefits, and to approve extensions to Special Diet Allowance, Mandatory Special Necessities benefits and medical transportation/supplies without endorsement from a health professional.

One-time payment - Families can access a one-time payment of $200 per child up to 12 years of age, and $250 for those with special needs. This intended to help pay for the extra costs associated with school and daycare closures during the COVID-19 outbreak. You can apply here. (Note: If you are a parent who received Support for Parents payments during teacher's strikes through direct deposit, you will be automatically eligible for this financial support and do not need to submit a new application.)

GAINS - The province will also double the Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) payment for low-income seniors for six months.

OSAP - Individuals with Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) loans will not be required to make payments from March 30, 2020 to September 30, 2020, and interest will not accrue during that period.

Suspension of Child Care Fees - An emergency order was issued to prevent child care operators from charging fees where care is not being provided while also ensuring that child care spaces are protected. Licensed child care facilities, with the exception of those accommodating health care and other frontline workers, were ordered closed to help prevent the spread of the virus and keep the children and child care staff safe. The order also means that parents cannot lose their child care space because they are not paying fees during this period. 

Please contact my community office at [email protected] or 519-657-3120 for more information or help with these programs.

Federal Support

The federal government announced a package of measures to support families and businesses. Click here for more information on when and how to apply for these benefits, and whether or not you are eligible. Available support includes the following:

Worker Support - The Canada Emergency Response Benefit will provide COVID-related income support to many people who would not otherwise have qualified for Employment Insurance. 

Contact the new dedicated toll-free phone number if you are in quarantine and seeking to waive the one-week EI sickness benefits waiting period so you can be paid for the first week of your claim:

• Telephone: 1-833-381-2725 (toll-free)
• Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-800-529-3742

Income Taxes - If you owe after you file your taxes, you have until August 2020 to make payment.

Family Support - Parents will get a top up of Canada Child Benefit of $300 per child, and low-income Canadians will receive increased GST credit for $400 for single adults; $600 for couples; $150 for every additional child.

Students - 6-month student loan repayment deferral, no accrual of interest.

Please contact the office of London West MP Kate Young at [email protected] or 519-473-5955 for more information or help with these programs.

Other Support

City of London Supports for Basic Needs - Comprehensive list of community services and contact information for people who need help with basic needs 

Evictions are now being processed at the Landlord and Tenant Board, and Sheriffs may enforce eviction orders from the LTB. If you have questions about this, please contact my community office.

No rent increases to existing tenants are allowed during 2021 unless they are approved by the Landlord and Tenant Board. If you have questions about any notice that you have received from your landlord, please contact my community office.

In light of the government ending the moratorium on evictions and making it easier for landlords to evict tenants through new legislation, Community Legal Education Ontario has updated information about evictions on their Steps to Justice website. In addition, the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario has published a blog post that outlines the changes contained in Bill 184.

It is important to know that as always, landlords are still not allowed to evict tenants on their own. They must get an order from the LTB and have the Sheriff enforce it.

For information about travel within Ontario and inter-provincial travel within Canada, click here.

For information about international travel, visit travel.gc.ca/travel-covid.

Please check my resources page if you are looking for any of the following:

• Business Resources
• Children & Family Resources
• Community Resources
• Education Resources
• Legal Resources
• Mental Health Resources
• Neighbours Helping Neighbours
• Seniors Resources
• Violence and Abuse

If you still can't find what you are looking for, please contact my community office. Please note that my office is currently closed to in-person visits, but my staff and I are ready to help by email at [email protected] or phone at 519-657-3120.