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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 7, 20 20 | 8 An Oakville manufacturer is now producing barriers to keep front-line health-care workers and essential retailers safe from the coronavirus. ASTOUND, which has around 90 employees, has been operating out of Oakville and Burlington since it was founded in 2001 and currently has a production facil- ity at 1215A North Service Rd. W. in Oakville Vice-President Andrew Pittam said things changed for the com- pany on March 11 when they were contacted by St. Michael's Hospi- tal in Toronto. With the coronavirus spread declared a pandemic that day, the hospital was urgently seeking help in the creation of a contain- ment/assessment area within the hospital where front-line health- care workers could access people who likely had the virus without being exposed themselves. "The shift to be part of a com- munity-driven solution to protect front-line workers from exposure to COVID-19 started once we un- derstood how much this was needed to keep people safe," said Pittam. "We have the ability to design and manufacture very rapidly, so shifting our attention to solving this problem made a lot of sense for us." In less than 72 hours, the pro- totype COVID-19 containment ki- osks were designed, manufac- tured and installed at the CO- VID-19 Rapid Assessment Centre at St. Michael's. Pittam said the kiosks utilize the wall systems for trade-show booths along with medical grade materials to protect front-line workers. Since then, the Oakville manu- facturer has built more than 100 of the kiosks, which have been de- ployed to hospitals across Cana- da. Pittam said the company is al- so in discussions with pharma- cies regarding the installation of similar barriers to keep their em- ployees safe. He said ASTOUND will also be participating in the construction of a temporary hos- pital that will be deployed some- where in Ontario. Additional details about this hospital will be provided after it has been constructed, said Pit- tam. The manufacturer has also VID-19 response, had received more than 14,000 submissions. "Since our initial call to action was issued, we have had a tremen- dous response from Ontario busi- nesses," said Ford. "These go-getters have stepped up in a big way to support our front-line workers with medical supplies and equipment, and many more are coming forward with a variety of innovative solu- tions. We have mobilized our manufacturing firepower and are converting it into Canada's manu- facturing workshop. But we need to enlist even more of our entre- preneurial leaders in order to stop this virus in its tracks." made their COVID-19 Rapid As- sessment Centre designs public so any capable manufacturer can join in the effort to fight the pan- demic. Last month, all levels of gov- ernment called on manufacturers to step up where they can and pro- duce supplies and equipment needed to fight COVID-19. ASTOUND was one of many to answer this call. On Saturday, April 11, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the Onta- rio Together portal, which was launched so businesses and man- ufacturers could offer emergency products, services and innovative solutions to support the CO- MANUFACTURER NOW MAKING SAFE SCREENING BOOTHS DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com Oakville's ASTOUND manufacturing is now producing safe screening booths for use during the COVID-19 pandemic in hospitals and testing clinics. Graham Paine/Torstar NEWS COMPANY ALSO HELPING TO CREATE TEMPORARY HOSPITAL oakville.ca Staying at home helps protect you and others from COVID-19. Residents are urged to follow the instruction of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and stay home except for essential reasons, such as to access health care services; shop for groceries; pick-up medication at the pharmacy; walk pets when required; and support vulnerable community members. Find more information on the town's response to the COVID-19 emergency on oakville.ca. For health-related information visit halton.ca. non-essential work to be ready to move forward for when the Ontario government lifts essential business restrictions. This is part of a phased-in approach to bring more services online. The emergency measures put in place by the province, the region and the town to slow the spread of COVID-19 are still in place, but the town is taking measures now to support the community in recovery by looking at alternate and safe ways to bring back some services. If you must go out, please remember: • keep a minimum 2 metres from others • keep dogs on a leash and 2-metres away from others Fines for violating emergency orders will be issued. To report violation, call the Halton Police COVID-19 hotline at 905-825-4722 or ServiceOakville at 905-845-6601. New! Now Accepting Electronic Permits and Applications The town is now accepting electronic submissions of various business and development permits and applications - from plans of subdivision and rezoning, to business license applications and signs permits. By resuming these services online we are supporting our economy by allowing many essential projects to advance, while preparing