OTTAWA -- Ottawa’s Medical Officer of Health is looking at ways to increase the messaging about the importance of social distancing and self-isolating now that there’s confirmation of community transmission of COVID-19 in Ottawa.
And Dr. Vera Etches says she’s been talking with the Ottawa Police Service to see if stricter rules need to be in place to enforce social-distancing and help slow the spread of novel coronavirus.
Dr. Etches told reporters on Sunday that there are five confirmed or indeterminate cases of novel coronavirus in Ottawa with no known travel history, no link to someone who travelled and no close contact with a confirmed case.
“We have people in our community who became ill and it’s been determined its coronavirus COVID-19, and they had no contact with another case that we can find. So that shows us there is community transmission in Ottawa,” said Dr. Etches.
“And I hope that means then that people will step up their social distancing, stop shopping for things that aren’t essential, make sure we’re not going to get our hair done. Those kinds of things are just not to be done right now if we’re going to protect each other and protect ourselves.”
Dr. Etches told reporters that based on modelling, she estimates there are 4,000 cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa.
Ontario’s Ministry of Health has confirmed there are 21 cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa.
When asked if the Federal Government should step-in with stricter rules for self-isolating and social-distancing, Dr. Etches said “because we can’t pinpoint exactly where the virus is in the community, we need to assume that it’s there and protect ourselves in all situations. That does mean that people need to get this message.”
Dr. Etches says Ottawa Public Health is looking at strengthening the message on the importance of social-distancing and self-isolating through the media or a mail out to households.
“It may be that we need to move to stronger measures, more enforcement. I’m in touch with the police services in Ottawa to get their sense on how compliance is with the order that has come under the provincial emergency declaration,” said Dr. Etches.
“If we’re not seeing people take the actions to protect others, I think we’ll have to look at other options.”
Measures to Increase social distancing
The Medical Officer of Health says she is “concerned” about reports of people out shopping for non-essential items over the weekend. Grocery stores, pharmacies and some big box stores remained open for shoppers.
Dr. Etches says Ottawa Public Health is working with the CIty of Ottawa to provide greater clarity on what is considered non-essential vs. essential businesses.
“It may be that people don’t have a full understanding of what we’re asking,” said Dr. Etches, when asked about ways to encourage social distancing.
Dr. Etches said she is looking at measures to further increase the separation between people, or the number of people who are out shopping.
“I am thinking of other ways that would increase social distancing. These are things we’re looking at … finding ways to, for instance, when people need to grocery shop if you live in an even numbered household, go on an even numbered day. If you live in a place where your street address is an odd number, go grocery shopping on an odd numbered day.”
“These are all measures we can take to further increase the separation between people,” said Dr. Etches.
Prepare for extended social distancing
Dr. Etches told CTV News at Six last Wednesday that the social distancing measures and school closures would need to be in place for “three-weeks plus.”
Federal officials suggested over the weekend that people would need to maintain “strong social distancing” for months.
On Sunday, Etches said “it is worth preparing, psychologically and practically, to imagine that we need to maintain the social distancing for a much longer period of time.”
The Medical Officer of Health recommended parents establish a new daily routine for their children, including time outside.
