School-aged kids make up largest portion of active COVID case in Ottawa
A concerning trend is taking shape in the capital with students back is school for few weeks now.
School-aged children are making up the largest portion of active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa
"Woke up in the night with some COVID symptoms, back in schools, so she needs to get the test so she can go back, you know get the negative test and get peace of mind she's COVID free," said Mike Dinelle who was getting his daughter Eva tested on Sunday.
Just weeks into the school year, cases among students in the capital have risen quickly. Currently, there are 17 outbreaks at schools and childcare centres on the city.
"It makes us feel uneasy; this is the third time in a month that we're here because there were symptoms and then a close contact with her," said Dinelle.
"I really worry that they have it, given that they go to school every day," another parent who was getting a COVID-19 test for their child on Sunday.
Approximately 35 per cent of the 474 active cases in Ottawa right now are in those under 19-years-old. Children 9 and under account for 110 active cases of novel coronavirus, the highest number of active cases among age groups.
However, concern about this trend varies among experts.
"Right now the outbreaks have been limited, they've been spreading from one child to two to four children, with Delta I think that's a win. We've been able to limit the spread to that few," said Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health.
"I don't like what Dr. Moore said, that we're okay if one individual transmits it to two or three versus five or six," said epidemiologist Dr. Raywat Deonandan.
Meanwhile, there are encouraging signs when it comes to overall case counts in the province, which have held steady for weeks now, and hospitalizations to remain manageable.
"We are not having this dramatic increase of a fourth wave, we're in a plateau I would call it, so far," said Dr. Ronald St. John, former federal manager to the SARS response in Canada.
With the fall now here and winter around the corner, many experts are not yet ready to declare the virus endemic.
"I would hate to think this is where we level off for an endemic phase of this disease, I think it's way too early to talk about it yet," said Dr. Deonandan.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.