Ottawa's top doctor to provide COVID-19 update one week before restrictions begin to ease
Ottawa's medical officer of health will provide an update on the COVID-19 situation in the capital today, one week after schools opened to in-person learning and one week before COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease.
Dr. Vera Etches will address a special Ottawa Board of Health meeting at 3 p.m. to discuss the current situation in Ottawa, and answer questions from board members.
The update comes as the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 related illnesses has increased in Ottawa over the past week.
Ottawa Public Health reported 93 people in Ottawa hospitals with an active COVID-19 infection on Sunday, up from 62 hospitalizations on Jan. 16. There are currently 14 people in the intensive care unit with an active COVID-19 infection, up from seven people one week ago.
Ottawa Public Health reports only hospitalizations among Ottawa residents with a hospital intervention for active COVID-19. To count as a hospitalization intervention, the hospitalization must involve treatment for an active COVID-19 infection or have a hospital stay extended because of active COVID-19.
COVID-19 SITUATION IN SCHOOLS
Dr. Etches will likely be asked about the COVID-19 situation in Ottawa's schools, one week after students returned to class for the first time since the Christmas break.
Ottawa school boards plan to inform parents of COVID-19 cases in classes and in schools, even though the Ontario government suspended mandatory reporting of cases. The provincial guidelines state principals would only notify the health unit of a potential outbreak when 30 per cent of students and staff are absent.
The Ottawa Catholic School Board and the Conseil des Ecoles Catholiques du Centre-Est have said they will notify parents, guardians and staff when they receive confirmation of a COVID-19 case in the school.
The CECCE is asking parents and guardians to notify the school if a child receives a positive result from a PCR or rapid-antigen test, and management will report the cases to classes while keeping names confidential.
The Ottawa Catholic School Board has said if the school becomes aware of a positive COVID-19 test result via a rapid antigen or PCR test, families would be notified.
The Ottawa Carleton District School Board is setting up a voluntary COVID-19 reporting process for parents, students and staff to share information about cases. A new COVID-19 Disclosure Dashboard will share information on COVID-19 cases in schools based on the information voluntarily shared by parents and guardians.
Starting today, all school boards must report school absences, tracking how many students and staff are physically present in a school on a given day.
Information will be posted on the Ontario government's website.
RESTRICTIONS EASING
Ontario has unveiled a three-step plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions in the province.
Starting Jan. 31, indoor dining at restaurants, gyms, retailers, shopping malls and cinemas can reopen at 50 per cent capacity. Spectators at sporting events, concert venues and theatres is capped at 50 per cent seated capacity or 500 people, whichever is less.
On Feb. 21, Ontario will remove capacity limits in indoor settings where proof of vaccination is required, including restaurants, indoor sports facilities and cinemas.
As of March 14, all capacity limits in indoor public settings will be lifted, but proof of vaccination requirements will still be in effect.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.