'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
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.