Refocus on COVID-19, respiratory virus prevention this winter, Ottawa's top doctor recommends

Ottawa's top doctor is urging residents to "refocus" their efforts on limiting the spread of COVID-19 and respiratory viruses in Ottawa following the holiday season, as hospitals see a surge in patients and virus levels are high this winter.

"Refocus, take that mindset of a bit more caution because levels are very high right now," medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches said Friday morning.

Ottawa Public Health's weekly respiratory virus snapshot shows levels of COVID-19, influenza and RSV are "very high", with COVID and influenza levels rising over the past week.

Dr. Etches told CTV Morning Live on Friday morning that after people gathered for the holidays, it's time to get back to using the techniques to help prevent the spread of viruses and protect yourself, loved ones and the healthcare system.

"Yes, the gatherings were important; the people did their risk assessments. I would say now its time to refocus on prevention; it is not too late," Etches said.

"Ask yourselves and family members, have they had their latest bivalent vaccine, that booster dose? Have they had their flu vaccine? It is not too late. What people do today will make a difference for how our hospitals have capacity in a couple of weeks and we want to make sure that care is there for our family members."

Etches says while people are prioritizing social connections, they need to remember that the risk of COVID is still circulating in the community.

"I do think that we need to remember that COVID is still a serious infection for many people, and our actions are all connected," Etches said. "So the simple things we can do like wearing a mask on transit, wearing a mask in the grocery store – we want to adopt those behaviours again when the levels are high, like now."

The Ottawa Hospital and the Queensway-Carleton Hospital warned this week that patients would face longer than normal wait times in the emergency departments due to higher patient volumes. The Queensway-Carleton Hospital said Tuesday was the busiest day in the hospital's 47-year history, with the hospital operating at 113 per cent occupancy.

"For CHEO, fortunately for children and youth we're seeing that the number of hospital visits, the number of hospitalizations are coming down," Etches said.

"It's really people over 55 where we're concerned. COVID is still a leading cause of death, and it is with age that the risk of death increases"

Etches says it's important for people to stay home when sick, be cautious about the size of your gatherings and wear a mask in indoor, crowded spaces.