With gatherings banned and most events cancelled or postponed, this year’s Canada Day party will be moving online, the federal government has announced.
The outside lanes of the Bank Street Bridge over the Rideau Canal are now closed to vehicle traffic to give pedestrians and cyclists more space. (Francis Ferland/CBC)
After more than a month of physical distancing, Ottawa Public Health is talking to politicians and health-care partners about what loosening up could look like, but still hasn’t released a timeline of when measures could end.
WATCH: Easter Saturday drone video of downtown Ottawa
This footage, shot by freelance videographer Peter Warren, shows empty downtown streets on Easter weekend as the COVID-19 pandemic has residents staying in their homes. 2:53
How many cases are there?
There are now 728 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa and more than 1,325 in eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
The deaths of 32 people in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties and two more in the wider region have also been tied to COVID-19.
The vast majority of the deaths are seniors.
From what we know, nearly 400 people out of that regional total have recovered, but most local health units don’t share that data.
Physical distancing remains in effect: avoiding non-essential trips, working from home, cancelling all gatherings and staying at least two metres away from anyone you don’t live with.
Volunteers of the Odawa Native Friendship Centre’s Bannock Bus Outreach program hand out coffee and food to those in need in downtown Ottawa during the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, April 16, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Anyone who has symptoms, travelled recently outside Canada or, specifically in Ottawa, is waiting for a COVID-19 test result must self-isolate for at least 14 days.
In Ontario, anyone in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or is presumed to have COVID-19 must also self-isolate for 14 days.
Ontario also recommends people older than 70 and those with compromised immune systems or underlying health issues go into voluntary self-isolation.
WATCH: The toll on mental health under physical distancing measures
Vera Etches, Ottawa’s chief medical officer of health, is encouraging residents to practice “positive coping strategies,” such as exercising and talking with friends and family remotely. 0:59
They range from a cold-like illness to a severe lung infection, most commonly fever, fatigue and a dry cough.
Recently added symptoms include a sore throat, runny nose and less common symptoms such as unexplained fatigue, nausea, or loss of taste or smell.
Older people, those with compromised immune systems and those with underlying medical problems are more likely to develop serious problems.
If you have severe symptoms, call 911.
WATCH: Slowing of COVID-19 infections gives health-care system some ‘breathing room,’
Doug Manuel, a data scientist at The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, says cases of COVID-19 have yet to peak in Ottawa but the rate of infection is slowing, giving officials some “breathing room” to develop a strategy for loosening restrictions. 1:04
The coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. People can be contagious without having symptoms.
The germs can also spread through close, prolonged contact, such as handshaking, and via surfaces such as door handles, phones and light switches.
It has testing sites by referral from a family doctor or the health unit only in Almonte and Smiths Falls, a walk-in site in Brockville at the Memorial Centre and a home test service for people in care or with mobility challenges.
A pedestrian walks past a boarded up business in downtown Ottawa during the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, April 16, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
There are drive-thru test centres in Casselman and Hawkesbury without needing to call ahead and others in Rockland, Winchester and Cornwall with a referral.
Vulnerable people can call 613-933-1375 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to ask about a home test.
Renfrew County is also providing home testing under some circumstances.
Anyone who doesn’t have or can’t reach a family doctor can call its new primary health-care centre at 1-844-727-6404 if they have any health questions.
Residents of Renfrew County don’t have to lose sleep when they can’t reach their family doctors during this time. 8:37
If your symptoms require a trip to the ER, call ahead if you can to let them know your travel history.
WATCH: How Ottawa could turn to other countries for examples of ‘a new normal’
Austria, where new infections have declined, could provide a preview of how best to reopen businesses and relax COVID-19 restrictions. Erich Striessnig, with the Vienna Institute for Demography in Austria, says it’s vital that governments maintain public trust in the process. 1:40
First Nations communities
Local communities have declared states of emergency, put in a curfew or both.
With a confirmed case in the American part of Akwesasne, anyone returning from farther than 80 kilometres away is asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
Anyone in Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte who has symptoms can call 613-967-3603 to talk to a nurse.
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.
