Ottawa Public Health (OPH) logged 63 more people with COVID-19 in Friday’s report. This is the highest five-day average of newly confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic.
In a news conference Friday, Etches defined the second wave as a rising percentage of people testing positive, along with an increasing number of people getting tested.
She said it would be a challenge if the numbers keep going up, and hopes Ottawans will continue to physically distance and wear their masks to curb the spread.
WATCH: Rapid rise in cases triggering second wave:
Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, says the city is seeing a rapid rise in cases that calls for a return to strict physical distancing measures. 1:12
Premier Doug Ford said Friday he hopes pharmacies can start administering COVID-19 tests by the end of next week.
Police across Quebec will check more than a thousand bars and restaurants this weekend to make sure health rules are being followed, particularly crowd limits and masks.
This week that province banned sales of food and drink after midnight.
WATCH LIVE | Ontario, Quebec premiers talk to media:
We check in with two families who spent a significant amount of time waiting for COVID-19 tests this week – missing out on work and school, and wondering why the system wasn’t better prepared for the surge in demand. 12:53
How many cases are there?
Testing has confirmed 3,549 people in Ottawa have had COVID-19.
Of those, 458 are active cases, 2,718 are considered resolved and 273 had died.
Overall, public health officials have reported more than 5,500 people with COVID-19 across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with more than 4,300 of them considered resolved.
COVID-19 has killed 104 people in the region outside Ottawa: 52 people have died in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties, 34 in the Outaouais and 18 in other parts of eastern Ontario.
Test sites in and around Ottawa have been very busy this week and wait times have been very long, with some reaching their daily capacity well before their usual closing time.
We hear reaction from the neighbours on one of the most popular streets to trick or treat. 4:09
Ottawa’s test site on Moodie Drive was at capacity by its official opening time of 9 a.m., according to the Queensway Carleton Hospital.
Today the team of the Ottawa East COVID-19 Care Clinic, on Heron Rd, is very happy to welcome the additional capacity created by <a href=”https://twitter.com/OntarioHealthOH?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@OntarioHealthOH</a> mobile pop-up testing site. Working together, we can tackle the lineups – and COVID-19! <a href=”https://t.co/g5d2V9QGYY”>pic.twitter.com/g5d2V9QGYY</a>
The Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) will end on Sept. 27. Recipients who qualify will be transitioned to Employment Insurance, while the government is promising to support others through new recovery benefits. 11:34
The novel coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes or speaks onto someone or something.
People don’t need to have symptoms to be contagious.
That means physical distancing measures such as working from home, meeting others outdoors as much as possible and keeping distance from anyone you don’t live with or have in your social circle, including when you have a mask on.
Masks are also recommended outdoors when you can’t stay the proper distance from others.
A pedestrian in a mask passes a painted storefront on Somerset Street West in Ottawa Sept. 2, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Andrew Lee/CBC)
Anyone who has travelled recently outside Canada must go straight home and stay there for 14 days.
In Ontario, that’s the same period of self-isolation for anyone with symptoms. When self-isolating, only leave home or see other people if it’s critically important, such as to go see a doctor.
Most people with a confirmed COVID-19 case in Quebec can end their self-isolation after 10 days if they have not had a fever for at least 48 hours and has had no other symptom for at least 24 hours.
Health Canada recommends older adults and people with underlying medical conditions and/or weakened immune systems stay home as much as possible.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
COVID-19 can range from a cold-like illness to a severe lung infection, with common symptoms including fever, a cough, vomiting and the loss of taste or smell.
Less common symptoms include chills, headaches and pinkeye. Children can develop a rash.
Getting tested any sooner than five days after potential exposure may not be as useful since it takes about that long for the virus to grow to be detectable by a test, said Ottawa’s medical officer of health Vera Etches in early September.
If you have severe symptoms, call 911.
Where to get tested
In eastern Ontario:
In Ottawa any resident can get tested, but record wait times have led Ottawa Public Health (OPH) to ask that testing be limited for now to people with symptoms or who have been referred for a test because of contact tracing.
Inuit in Ottawa can call the Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team at 613-740-0999 for service, including testing, in Inuktitut or English on weekdays.
There is a pop-up clinic at the Wabano Centre in Vanier Monday and Tuesday.
Book now! Wabano will be offering COVID-19 testing on-site for First Nations, Inuit & Métis.<br>Sept. 21 & 22<br>9:30 am to 4:00 pm<br>299 Montreal Rd<br>*By Appointment Only*<br>Call 613-748-0657 ext. 456 to book your appointment.<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Indigenous?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Indigenous</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndigenousHealth?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#IndigenousHealth</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ottawa?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Ottawa</a> <a href=”https://t.co/GMbObapNVN”>pic.twitter.com/GMbObapNVN</a>
There’s also a mobile testing van operated by Inner City Health that mostly serves people experiencing homelessness and some tests done in hospitals.
People wait in Ottawa’s Brewer Park for a COVID-19 test at its arena Sept. 16, 2020. Health officials in the capital say demand for a test has never been higher. (Francis Ferland/CBC)
In the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, there is a drive-thru centre in Casselman and walk-up site in Hawkesbury and Winchester that don’t require people to call ahead.
Others in Alexandria, Rockland, Cornwall and now Winchester require an appointment.
In Kingston, the Leon’s Centre is hosting the city’s test site though Gate 2. There’s another test site at Queen’s University’s Mitchell Hall open 5 to 8 p.m. on weekdays.
You can arrange a test in Bancroft, Belleville or Trenton by calling the centre and in Picton by texting or calling. Only Belleville and Trenton run seven days a week.
The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark unit asks you to get tested if you have a symptom or concerns about exposure.
It has a walk-in site in Brockville at the Memorial Centre and testing sites in Smiths Falls and Almonte which require an appointment.
Renfrew County residents should call their family doctor and those without access to a family doctor can call 1-844-727-6404 to register for a test or if they have health questions, COVID-19-related or not.
They can call 1-877-644-4545 to make an appointment or if they have other questions.
A class with a mix of in-person and at-home learning at Collège Universel in Gatineau, Que., in September 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Jonathan Dupaul/Radio-Canada)
It has a mobile COVID-19 test site available by appointment only. Anyone returning to the community on the Canadian side of the international border who’s been farther than 160 kilometres away — or visited Montreal — for non-essential reasons is asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
