Ottawa Public Health reported another 19 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the city’s total to 2,208 since the start of the pandemic.
This is the first weekend Ottawa and the rest of eastern Ontario have been in Stage 3.
Fitness studios, gyms, karaoke bars and dine-in restaurants are among the businesses that can reopen, while playgrounds in city parks are now available to be used.
Masks are now mandatory in public spaces across western Quebec.
The latest COVID-19-related shortage appears to be certain types of lumber, including cedar and pressure-treated wood.
What’s the latest?
This is the first weekend Ontario is in Stage 3 of the province’s reopening plan. That means people can dine in at restaurants and bars, check out a movie at the cinema or workout on a treadmill at a gym.
Indoor gatherings of up to 50 and outdoor gatherings of up to 100 are also allowed, but people must continue to practise physical distancing.
If you were planning to start building a deck or fence this weekend, you may be out of luck finding the type of wood you want. Both cedar and pressure-treated wood are in low supply.
Mark Priddle, co-owner of The WoodSource, says he’s seen an increase in demand for certain types of wood. Contractor Blaire Cabelguen says his business can hardly keep up with people’s home renovation requests. 1:00
The National Art Gallery reopened yesterday and is offering free admission throughout the weekend. Going forward, it will be open Thursdays through Sundays.
In the Outaouais, mask usage is now mandatory in all indoor public spaces for the vast majority of people 12 and older. It’s a provincewide mandate that coincides with the start of Quebec’s two-week construction holiday.
There have been another seven confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa for a total of 2,208 since the pandemic began, according to Saturday’s report from Ottawa Public Health. The number of deaths remains at 263. The vast majority of cases in the city, 1,855, are classified as resolved.
Gatineau has reported a total of 542 cases.
Kingston health officials reported one new case of COVID-19 Friday, but none on Saturday. The newest case is connected to an outbreak in June that was mainly related to local nail salons. It’s the first case in the region since July 5.
In all, public health officials have reported more than 3,500 cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, and more than 3,000 are resolved.
COVID-19 has killed 102 people outside Ottawa: 52 in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties, 17 in other parts of eastern Ontario and 33 in the Outaouais.
The last coronavirus-related death in the region was June 25, according to the health units.
Shawn McCleery says it’s been tough to find ways to occupy his daughter during the pandemic, so the reopening of playground equipment has given them some other options for play. 0:35
What’s open and closed?
Ottawa is now in Stage 3 of Ontario’s reopening plan. Indoor, distanced gatherings of up to 50 people are allowed, as they are in Quebec, and gatherings of up to 100 people outside are permitted.
Under Stage 3, movie theatres can open, playgrounds are no longer off-limits and indoor dining in restaurants is allowed.
The National Gallery of Canada will reopen Thursdays to Sundays. It officially reopened yesterday and is offering free admission all weekend.
The coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. People don’t need to have symptoms to be contagious.
That means physical distancing measures such as working from home and in Ontario, staying at least two metres away from anyone they don’t live with or have in their circle.
Ottawa’s medical officer of health said in mid-July people should be ready for COVID-19 social restrictionswell into 2021 or 2022.
Clinical psychologist Saunia Ahmad examines the refusal by some to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite public health advice. 5:50
Anyone who has symptoms or travelled recently outside Canada must self-isolate for at least 14 days.
Specifically in Ottawa, anyone waiting for a COVID-19 test result must self-isolate at least until they know the result.
The same goes for anyone in Ontario who’s been in contact with someone who’s tested positive or is presumed to have COVID-19.
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health strongly urges self-isolation for individuals who have weakened immune systems and Ottawa Public Health recommends people over 70 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 dry cough, vomiting and the loss of taste or smell.
Less common symptoms include chills, headaches and pinkeye. The Ontario government says in rare cases, children can develop a rash.
If you have severe symptoms, call 911.
A nurse prepares to do a COVID-19 test at the drive-thru centre in Ontario. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)
Where to get tested
In eastern Ontario:
In Ottawa any resident who feels they need a test, even if they are not showing symptoms,can now be tested at one of three sites.
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 drive-thru test centre in Casselman and assessment centres in Hawkesbury and Winchester that don’t require people to call ahead.
Others in Alexandria, Rockland and Cornwall require an appointment.
In Kingston, the Leon’s Centre is now hosting the city’s test site. Find it at Gate 2.
Napanee‘s test centre is open daily for people who call for an appointment.
TheLeeds, 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.
The public health unit in the Belleville area is asking people to call it, their family doctor or Telehealth if they have symptoms or questions.
You canarrange a test in Bancroft, Belleville or Trenton by calling the centre and in Picton by texting or calling.
Renfrew County is also providing pop-up and home testing under some circumstances.
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.
A disposable non-medical mask lies discarded in Ottawa July 14, 2020. Not properly disposing masks and gloves can cost you a $365 fine under the city’s bylaws. (Francis Ferland/CBC)
In western Quebec:
Outaouais residents should call1-877-644-4545 if they have symptoms for further assistance, which can include an appointment for a test.
First Nations:
Local communities have declared states of emergency, put in a curfew or both.
Akwesasnehas opened a mobile COVID-19 test site available by appointment only. Anyone returning to Akwesasne who’s been farther than 80 kilometres away is asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
Anyone inTyendinaga who’s interested in a test can call 613-967-3603 to talk to a nurse. Face coverings are now mandatory in its public buildings.
Both councils plan to start up more services next week, though Akwesasne is not opening sports facilities yet.
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.
