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Ottawa cooling centres to open Monday during heat wave

Emergency cooling centre at 400 Clarence Street East. Ottawa, ON. July 9, 2020. (Tyler Fleming / CTV News Ottawa) Emergency cooling centre at 400 Clarence Street East. Ottawa, ON. July 9, 2020. (Tyler Fleming / CTV News Ottawa)
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OTTAWA -

The City of Ottawa says four emergency cooling centres will open Monday to provide relief from the heat.

A heat warning from Environment Canada is in effect for Ottawa-Gatineau and parts of the surrounding region. The forecast for Ottawa includes a high of 33 C on both Monday and Tuesday. Monday's humidex could reach 41.

The heat warning was first issued Saturday afternoon, but the city did not have the cooling centres open on Sunday.

In a tweet, Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard called on the city to open the cooling centres as soon as possible.

River ward Coun. Riley Brockington said he made the same request and suggested he may draft a motion that would require cooling centres to open as soon as a heat warning is issued.

These four centres will open Monday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. to provide a place to cool off:

  • Plant Recreation Centre, 930 Somerset St. W.
  • Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre, 3320 Paul Anka Dr.
  • Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre, 102 Greenview Ave.
  • Pat Clark Community Centre, 4355 Halmont Dr.

The city says the emergency cooling centers are set up to ensure people can practice proper physical distancing and will have access to water. Residents are asked to bring a mask with them if they have one.

Some air conditioned public spaces, such as libraries, malls, and museums, remain closed in Ontario because of COVID-19 restrictions, limiting the amount of places people can go to cool off during the extreme heat. City splash pads are operating. There are no lifeguards at public beaches and they are closed under provincial regulations until June 19.

If you see someone in distress, you're asked to call 311.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca has a list of places to cool off during the heat wave here

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