OTTAWA —
The Eastern Ontario Health Unit’s top doctor admits health officials are worried about the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend and possible family gatherings leading to a spike in COVID-19 cases in Ontario.
And Dr. Paul Roumeliotis is urging people to “think twice” about inviting grandparents over for Thanksgiving dinner.
Ontario reported a record 797 new cases of COVID-19 across the province on Thursday, including 182 in Ottawa.
Speaking on CTV Morning Live Thursday morning, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis said it’s important for everyone to stick with their household bubble for the Thanksgiving weekend to help limit the spread of COVID-19.
“I think at this point If we buckle down, for example this coming weekend obviously, stay at home, stay with your own household, don’t have others at your home, don’t socialize otherwise, I think we’ll be able to quell those numbers down,” said Dr. Roumeliotis.
CTV Morning Live host Leslie Roberts asked Dr. Roumeliotis if there should be concern about Ottawa seeing 117 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday.
“It is a big number. It worries me as an individual number but I do understand that a lot of it has to do with a lot of clusters. Ottawa, for example, has over 20 clusters of cases where there are at least 10 individuals, if not more, from one single party or gathering,” said Dr. Roumeliotis.
“As long as we’re able to identify where the sources of these infections are coming from, I think we’ll be able to get those numbers down. I think that’s a fallout of over the last couple of weeks since Labour Day, where people were celebrating and getting together with parties, even outdoor parties.”
Before the 797 new infections were reported on Thursday, Dr. Roumeliotis said there were signs the number of cases of COVID-19 were “stabilized” over the past week.
“I’m just hoping that we can continue to see that flattening and then that going downwards,” said Dr. Roumeliotis.
“This is the fallout that we’re seeing from Labour Day. It’s been a month now from Labour Day, and we always see what we call two week incubation periods of 28 days of fallout. So, hopefully with these measures that we’ve done we’ll be able to further see that number stay where it is and go down.”
Last week, Ontario announced new capacity limits for bars, restaurants and nightclubs in Ottawa. A maximum of six people can sit at a table, and capacity is limited to 100 people. Last month, Ontario limited social gatherings in private to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
Ottawa Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches and Ontario health officials have repeatedly asked people to stick to their household bubble for Thanksgiving weekend, and not invite people over.
Dr. Roumeliotis tells CTV Morning Live that a lot of people are worried about Thanksgiving weekend and a potential spike in cases if people socialize.
“Please only have your household over, it’s very important. Your bubble is your household now, no more 10, it’s your household. Avoid travel, avoid receiving people,” said. Dr. Roumeliotis.
“This is a time where we can actually make the difference and continue my optimistic trend of flattening and bringing it down.”
When CTV Morning Live asked Dr. Roumeliotis about inviting grandma or grandpa over for Thanksgiving dinner, the medical officer of health said, “Think twice” about it.
“Depends on the situation, if you’re going to have a person living alone, you can bring somebody yes. But be very careful; socially distance, wear masks at home, be very careful to protect grandma,” said Dr. Roumeliotis.
“If you can’t socially distance at home, if you got a lot of kids running around that are going to go sit on grandma’s lap, for example, that you can’t control, then you got to think about it.”
