Ottawa Public Health strongly recommends mask use indoors as COVID-19 levels remain high
Ottawa Public Health is strongly recommending residents wear a mask in indoor and crowded public spaces, as COVID-19 levels remain high in the community during the second week of the school year.
In its weekly COVID-19 snapshot, Ottawa Public Health says its monitoring indicators are "once again showing a levelling-off of the decreases seen in previous weeks" across Ottawa.
"Levels of COVID-19 remain high in the community," OPH said on Twitter.
The COVID-19 Wastewater Viral Signal shows wastewater virus detection levels are "high" and remain unchanged since last week, according to the health unit.
A look at the COVID-19 wastewater viral signal for Ottawa on Sept. 15. (613covid.ca/website)
Tens of thousands of elementary, secondary and post-secondary students have returned to classes this month for a new school year, with no mask mandates in place in schools.
Ottawa Public Health is urging people to use the "layers of protection" against COVID-19 this fall.
"With school resuming and colder weather approaching, it’s important to continue using layers of protection against COVID-19. It’s worth noting that these layers of protection will also help protect against other seasonal respiratory viruses like colds, flu and RSV," OPH said on Twitter.
"We continue to strongly recommend wearing a mask in indoor and/or crowded public spaces."
The layers of protection include wearing a mask, being vaccinated with all the doses you are eligible for, washing your hands and staying home when you're sick.
In August, medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches stopped short of recommending everyone wear a mask in schools, but did say masks are "another layer of protection" for children, teachers and families.
"I think our children know they should always have a mask in their pocket and in their backpack and we encourage them to wear them when they're in close contact with others. It's something they've gotten used to," Dr. Etches said on CTV Morning Live on Aug. 30.
"For families where it's going to be something they want to do and their children aren't quite sure that they want to wear masks, you can have that conversation about why and how it protects them and protects others, and maybe find ways to make it easier – is it a mask they like, is it something that's comfortable for them."
ER BUSY AT CHEO
Ottawa's children's hospital is warning people to expect long wait times in its emergency department, due to high patient volumes.
"Our Emergency Department is experiencing heavier than normal volumes, and we always see the sickest, most urgent cases first," CHEO said in a statement on Twitter. "Come prepared with snacks, blankets, toys, etc. to make your wait as comfortable as possible. #CHEO is always here to provide urgent care when you need it."
On Thursday morning, the longest wait time to see a physician in the CHEO ER was 11 hours and 33 minutes. There were 57 people waiting in line to see a physician.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
Flammable kids' sleepwear, salmonella-contaminated chips: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued recalls for various items this week, including kids' bassinets, chips, and stoves. Here's what to watch out for.
Lyon-bound Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Montreal turns back midflight due to pressurization alert
Passengers heading from Montreal to Lyon, France on Friday were forced to return home and depart the next day after a pressurization indication was detected in flight.
U.S. ambassador 'not aware' of any plans for Trudeau-Trump meeting
Canada's Ambassador to the United States says she's 'not aware' of any plans for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with former U.S. president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump before the November American election.
Sentencing trial set to begin for Florida man who executed 5 women at a bank in 2019
Zephen Xaver walked into a central Florida bank in 2019, fatally shot five women and then called police to tell them what he did. Now 12 jurors will decide whether the 27-year-old former prison guard trainee is sentenced to death or life without parole.
'How do you get hypothermia in a prison?' Records show hospitalizations among Virginia inmates
The Virginia State Police investigator seemed puzzled about what the inmate was describing: "unbearable" conditions at a prison so cold that toilet water would freeze over and inmates were repeatedly treated for hypothermia.
The secret Italian lakes that most tourists don't know about
Italy has dozens of secret smaller lakes that boast superb scenery, unknown to mass tourism, where locals get together on day trips and enjoy picnics.
Canadian immigration asks medical worker fleeing Gaza if he treated Hamas fighters
Lawyers are questioning Canada’s approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas.
Walmart, Costco refusing to sign grocery code of conduct 'untenable': industry minister
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says it's 'untenable' for 'smaller players' like Walmart and Costco to delay signing on to the government- and industry-led grocery code of conduct, now that industry giant Loblaw has agreed to do so.