Ottawa Public Health reported only one new COVID-19 case Sunday, bringing the city’s total to 2,055 confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak.
Another staff member at the Peter D. Clark long-term care home has tested positive, the 24th case at the municipal facility.
Ontario reported 175 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday as the number of people in hospital continues to decline.
Hundreds of Ottawans — many wearing masks — turned out to a march Saturday to remember Abdirahman Abdi.
It’s the last day of the virtual Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival.
Splash pads are open in Ottawa to help families stay cool during this weekend.Cooling centres are open to the public at five community centres, with physical distancing measures in place.
What’s the latest?
With Ottawa in the middle of both a pandemic and a heat wave, emergency cooling centres have opened at five community centres: Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre, Hunt Club Riverside Park Community Centre, Hintonburg Community Centre, Sandy Hill Community Centre and St-Laurent Complex.
The centres will also be open Monday. Physical distancing measures will be in place, and people should bring a cloth mask if they have one.
Splash pads are also open; however, beaches do not officially open until June 27. Indoor and outdoor pools, along with wading pools, are still closed but set to open next month.
Like many events, the Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival has had to move online. The three-day festival happens every year during National Indigenous History Month and wraps up today.
Farmers markets are open and no longer require people to register in advance.
Starting Monday, Quebec residents will be able to gather indoors in groups of up to 50 people and will only have to stay up to 1.5 metres apart.
Two protesters hold up signs at the Justice for Abdirahman rally in Ottawa on June 20, 2020. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC )
How many cases are there?
There have been 2,055 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa and 260 deaths.
There are more than 3,275 known cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
More than 2,750 people in the region have recovered from COVID-19.
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.
NEW: Updated modelling for <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ottawa?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Ottawa</a> suggests the city is <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/PhysicalDistancing?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#PhysicalDistancing</a> at 69 per cent.<br><br>Plus: A 20 per cent increase in <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#COVID19</a> transmission would cause a 2nd wave in the fall with 100 people in hospital.<br><br>Here’s more modelling data: <a href=”https://t.co/H4utcit5Ab”>https://t.co/H4utcit5Ab</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ottnews</a> <a href=”https://t.co/T88ttnLuwl”>pic.twitter.com/T88ttnLuwl</a>
Eastern Ontario is in “Stage 2” of the province’s recovery plan, allowing “circles” of up to 10 people who don’t have to distance as long as they limit close contact to that group.
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.
Children in Quebec can now be one metre apart at school and day camps. Starting Monday, all Quebecers can be within 1.5 metres of each other while seated at indoor venues such as theatres.
Splash pads in Ottawa are now open. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal/The Associated Press)
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.
People 70 and older or with compromised immune systems or underlying health conditions should also self-isolate.
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 pink eye. The Ontario government says in rare cases, children can develop a rash.
It’s been 100 days of COVID-19 quarantine in Canada. What will you remember? 5:29
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 open seven days a week 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.
There are weekly pop-up clinics in other communities and you may also qualify for a home test.
Renfrew County is also providing pop-up and home testing under some circumstances. Residents without access to a family doctor can call 1-844-727-6404 if they have health questions, COVID-19-related or not.
If you’re concerned about the coronavirus, take the self-assessment.
Local communities have declared states of emergency, put in a curfew or both.
Akwesasne has 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 in Tyendinaga who’s interested in a test can call 613-967-3603 to talk to a nurse.
Pikwakanagan‘s council let businesses reopen May 29 and is not running checkpoints at entrances during the day.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
