OTTAWA -- We meet the new Ottawa Public Health intern, Ottawa's housing market remains hot and the head of the Ottawa Hospital predicts all Ottawa residents will receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by summer.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the five most viewed stories on our website this week.
Ryan Reynolds revealed as 'Bruce,' the Ottawa Public Health intern
Ottawa Public Health unveiled the identity of 'Bruce', the intern that sent out a tweet on Super Bowl Sunday without naming the winner.
It turns out he's Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds.
The health unit tweeted a video Friday morning with Reynolds, revealing his identity.
"Yes I occasionally tweet from Ottawa Public Health. Why? Everybody does," Reynolds says. "About the Super Bowl, in my defence, these days I'm just, I'm so busy, okay? So just...so back off. On Super Bowl Sunday, I just forgot."
The original post-Super Bowl tweet fooled many, and got more than 9,000 likes. "WHAT AN AMAZING #SuperBowlLV!! Congratulations to the (*Bruce, make sure to put the winning team's name here)," the tweet read.
The health unit sent a follow-up thread about spotting misinformation online to be completely clear the tweet was a joke.
Family fighting to get Ottawa woman home after she contracted COVID-19 in Florida
The family of an Ottawa woman spending the winter in Florida is trying to bring her home after she contracted COVID-19.
Since 2016, Elvira Sosing has spent her winters in Florida. While in Florida this winter, she contracted COVID-19 and is currently in hospital.
"She’s been in and out of the ICU three times. Intubated three times. There are times where she’s getting good and then all of a sudden got worse. And we almost lost her on two separate occasions," said Sosing’s son Patrick Balaba.
The family says Sosing is insured, but it won't cover the cost of an ambulance home. A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise the money to bring her home.
'It's mind-blowing!' $100,000 increase in new home value surprises Ottawa homeowners
Ottawa's hot real estate market caught the attention of visitors to CTVNewsOttawa.ca this week.
On Tuesday, CTV News Ottawa's Dave Charbonneau looked at how an Ottawa homebuilder is launching auctions for a new home.
Homebuilder Cardel Homes will host an online blind auction for buyers to bid on three new builds that will be move-in ready in about a year.
"It’s really the same product, just packaged up a little differently," says Tanya Buckley, VP of sales and marketing at Cardel. "The demand has become so high. We’re looking at that resale market model and saying, this is what people have been doing in the resale market, we’re sort of looking at that for the new home market."
On Friday, CTV News Ottawa's Colton Praill looked at the housing situation in Stittville. A couple purchased a home in Bridlewood Trails last August when the base price was $537,000. Seven months later, the same model is selling for $691,000.
"It’s pretty crazy, obviously it makes us feel like we made the right decision and that timing was everything," Brittany Cassidy said.
Every Ottawa resident could receive first dose of COVID-19 vaccine by summer, Ottawa Hospital CEO says
As Ottawa began to vaccinate all residents over the age of 90, the head of the Ottawa Hospital provided reasons for optimism for all residents.
"For a first dose, summer is very reasonable," Cameron Love, president and CEO of the Ottawa Hospital said Thursday on when all residents could expect to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Ottawa's COVID-19 vaccine rollout is being led by medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches and Ottawa's general manager of emergency and protective services Anthony Di Monte.
"As a community with Tony and Dr. Etches plan, there's a plan there to do sort of 10 to 15,000 (vaccinations) a day," said Love during an interview on Newstalk 580 CFRA's The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll.
"If the doses continue to climb through April and we get the volume of doses that are planned through April and May – that's 300,000 a month. With a million people in Ottawa, you can see we can get everyone in Ottawa with a first dose by summer."
As of March 12, Ottawa had received 80,540 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine. A total of 73,009 doses had been administered.
Residents concerned as coyotes roam the streets in Ottawa's south end at all hours of the day
Residents of Riverside South are raising new concerns about coyotes roaming the streets at all hours of the day.
"We’re seeing increased activity that obviously causes some concern," says Chris McLeod, who shot video of one just outside his Riverside South house.
"Certainly some of them seem to have lost the fear of human interaction. So we’re seeing them right up on residential properties, put on the streets and the sidewalks, near the schools."
Just last week, staff at Steve Maclean Public School called parents to pick up their children, because three coyotes were roaming around the area at the end of the school day.
Coun. Carol Anne Meehan says residents will need to adjust to life with coyotes in the area.
"Coyotes are everywhere, they live in cities," says Meehan. "We can not shoot coyotes. We will not trap and relocate them. We can’t do anything to eradicate them. The only thing we can do is learn how to live with them."
