'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
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels will take the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
NEW Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
NEW Capital gains tax change 'shortsighted' and 'sows division' business groups tell Freeland
Forging ahead with increasing Canada's capital gains inclusion rate 'sows division,' and is a 'shortsighted' way to improve the deficit, business groups are warning Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
Defence attacks Stormy Daniels' credibility as she returns to the stand in Trump's hush money trial
Stormy Daniels will return to the witness stand Thursday in Donald Trump's hush money trial as the defence tries to undermine the credibility of the porn actor's salacious testimony about their alleged sexual encounter and the money she was paid to keep quiet.
With contactless screening tech, this Toronto startup hopes to catch breast cancer early — and save lives
Amid evidence of rising breast cancer rates among young women in Canada, one Toronto startup is offering a contactless and radiation-free device that can help doctors identify suspicious changes in breast tissue. The company, Linda Lifetech, says this can lead to earlier detection of breast cancer.
Tornadoes tear through southeastern U.S. as storms leave 3 dead
Forecasters warned a wave of dangerous storms in the U.S. could wash over parts of the South early Thursday, a day after severe weather with damaging tornadoes and large hail killed at least three people in the region.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.