'Frustrated as hell:' Barry's Bay COVID-19 outbreak closes businesses
A new outbreak of COVID-19 in Barry’s Bay, Ont. has resulted in two closed businesses and nearly two-dozen high-risk contacts.
The Renfrew County health unit is reporting three new confirmed cases that started with a visit from southern Ontario.
Twenty-one high-risk contacts now have to isolate, a fresh example that Canada is not yet out of the pandemic.
“We’ve had very few cases in the last month, but invariably they all come from away,” said Dr. Robert Cushman, Renfrew County’s acting medical officer of health. “Either someone coming in or someone going out and coming back.”
Cushman said of the 21 close contacts, 11 have not been vaccinated.
“What we’re seeing now is this, what President Biden has called the pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
The Ash Grove Inn would normally be packed on a sunny Friday, but two staff members testing positive have forced it to drastically reduce hours, leaving owner Wendell Henry “frustrated as hell.”
He says the weekend pullback will cost the inn about $20,000.
The other confirmed case in the community is a staff member at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College.
“There were some students between semesters who came up for a visit from out of town, and then went back home and tested positive for COVID,” said Christine Schintgen, the college’s interim president.
Local business owners and public health officials said they believe members of the college community specifically are not taking the pandemic seriously.
“Because people don’t want to vaccinate, they’re not taking it seriously for whatever reason, and they don’t want to wear a mask and they’re not taking precautions,” Henry said. “It’s affecting everyone.”
Added Cushman: “This group has been a challenge from the word go in terms of recognizing the pandemic in terms of distancing in the community, masking, and certainly the vaccination rate."
Schintgen said the government’s policy on vaccines is that it’s a matter of individual conscience, so that’s the college’s policy as well.
“We’re a college and like most colleges we have a diversity of views on every possible topic, and COVID is no exception,” she said.
“We do have a divergence in views, but we unite under the need to follow the regulations and enforcing them on campus. So we find common ground on that, but people are free. They have academic freedom to express their different views on the subject.”
Barry's Bay is about 190 kilometres west of Ottawa.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Rape, terror and death at sea: How a boat carrying Rohingya children, women and men capsized
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.