OTTAWA -- Ottawa’s medical officer of health is urging you to limit your social contacts to members of your household “as much as possible” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the temperatures warm up in Ottawa, Dr. Vera Etches says there has been many questions regarding gathering with people outside your immediate household if the group has less than five people.
“While Ontario regulation allows gatherings of up to five people, Ottawa Public Health recommends keeping to activities with members of our households as much as possible, no matter what the size of the group is,” said Dr. Etches in a statement.
“If we increase our interaction with others too much too soon, the level of infection has more chances to rise and we may risk overburdening our health care system.”
On Monday, Premier Doug Ford admitted he visited with his daughters at his home on Mother’s Day, in apparent contradiction of Ontario’s advice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ford said two of his daughters, who do not live with him, came over to visit with the rest of the family.
Ontario’s COVID-19 guidelines says “everyone in Ontario should practice physical distancing to reduce their exposure to other people.”
“This means staying at least two metres away from anyone outside your household.”
Dr. Etches says there are still COVID-19 cases arising in the community where people infected were not in contact with a known case and did not have a history of travel to an affected area.
“People may not realize they are infected and still pass on the COVID-19 virus.”
