More Ottawa police officers vaccinated after mandatory policy announced

The sign outside Ottawa police headquarters on Elgin Street. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa's police chief says nearly all active members of the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) are now vaccinated against COVID-19, with over a month to go before the force's mandatory vaccination deadline.

In the fall, the OPS made headlines for not enacting a mandatory vaccination policy, despite it being required for municipal and federal workers and at many private sector businesses. The service faced significant pressure from the mayor and the public to change course, later announcing that vaccines would be mandatory by Jan. 31, 2022.

In October, when the policy was announced, roughly 84 per cent of OPS staff were fully vaccinated.

In a media availability on Monday, chief Peter Sloly said that number has since increased.

"Our numbers are strong and heading in the right direction in terms of our vaccination rate. For active members, we're up around 96, almost 97 per cent, which is in line with most other agencies in the city," he said.

Sloly couldn't speak to how many members of the service had requested exemptions.

He also said that with the Omicron variant surging in the province, he expects some staffing changes will need to be made.

"This obviously a more transmissible variant and we're expecting direct and indirect impacts to our staffing here," Sloly said. "We're making real-time adjustments to a real-time change with the latest variant and we're using the best information that's available locally, provincially, nationally, and internationally to make those adjustments."

The Ottawa Police Service's pandemic team tells CTV News Ottawa that they are aware of 36 members of the OPS who have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

"In situations where the OPS is informed of a COVID-19 positive case with a member, all precautions are implemented in order to protect our members and the public, per Public Health guidelines." a statement said.