Canada’s public health community is continuing to lead the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We applaud all of our frontline public health and healthcare professionals, service providers and others who are helping to assist the public during this challenging time. Thank you for your tireless efforts.

OPHA’s role during COVID-19:
The Ontario Public Health Association is committed to keeping our communities healthy and strong. OPHA will continue to monitor developments on the federal and provincial scene to keep you informed. We are also gathering feedback from our members and identifying helpful resources to best support our sector as well as others searching for evidence-based information and guidance. OPHA has also been providing support to organizations with customized online COVID-19 Vaccine Education training to help employers meet recent mandates for vaccination policies in high-risk settings.

For health care providers:

• Public Health Ontario recommends that health care providers refer to the Ministry of Health COVID-19 Guidance for case definitions and other related guidance documents.

What can you do?
While you may not be involved in frontline service delivery, you can play an important role by:

• Being a positive voice of evidence-based information on social media;
• Being a champion of kindness to address fear during #coronavirus by showing empathy to those who are affected, checking in regularly with those who are affected and supporting high-risk individuals in your community;
• Encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to follow the advice of public health officials

Where can you get more information?

Here’s where to find information and updates about COVID-19:

• Government of Canada
• Ontario Ministry of Health
• Ontario COVID-19 self-assessment tool
• Public Health Ontario
• Public Health Agency of Canada
• Telehealth Ontario
• Your local public health agency
• US Centers for Disease Control
• World Health Organization

Coping with stress and anxiety during COVID-19:

The evolving COVID-19 situation may impact your mental well-being. The following resources provide evidence-based information and suggestions on how to best cope during this pandemic. The resources are not intended for COVID-19 screening or if you are experiencing a mental health crisis.  

• CAMH
• CDC – stress & coping
• Ontario Mental Health Association 
• WHO – coping with stress during the pandemic
• WHO – helping children cope with stress during the pandemic
• National Eating Disorder Information Centre: COVID-19 + ED: FAQs 

Other tools and resources:

• WHO – COVID-19 advice for the public: myth busters
• CDC – myths and facts about COVID-19 vaccines
• Ontario Ministry of Health: COVID-19 vaccine information sheet
• Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada:  COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy
• Canadian Paediatric Society: how can we talk to kids about COVID-19?
• PROOF: COVID-19 & food insecurity

Let us know of any other information you would find helpful or would like to see featured through our Contact Us form.