Ottawa’s medical offficer of health said Friday it seems the city’s third wave is coming, and is asking people to maintain physical distancing to prevent a surge in COVID-19 cases.
“It looks like [a third wave] is coming. It’s apparent in the wastewater and that’s been a pretty reliable predictor,” said Dr. Vera Etches in an interview on CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning.
Etches said the spread is being driven in social settings and people can’t get complacent with behaviour such as distancing and wearing masks because of positive news about vaccines.
It will still be a few months until vaccination has an impact on the general population, she said.
On Wednesday, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) warned it’s seeing a rise in the number of people believed to have one of the more contagious variants.
So far, 10 people have tested positive for variants of concern first identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
But according to Etches, 73 more people have a genetic indicator after initial screening that could signal they’ve contracted one of the variants and wastewater testing also suggests there could be more.
WATCH | Dr. Vera Etches on Ottawa Morning:
The health authority also said some the city’s key indicators, used to track the spread of the virus, are also trending closer to the red zone on the province’s pandemic scale.
Such a move would mean stricter restrictions such as smaller gatherings and sports being limited to practices.
At the same time, vaccine appointments were made available to more Ottawans this week.
