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Ottawa Public Health does not yet have detailed information on the options leading up in the Ottawa case, but they are likely to include sub-options BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron, said Dr Vera Etches.
FILE: PCR tests for tampons Photo by Loren Elliott / REUTERS
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Signs point to another potential jump in COVID-19 cases in Ottawa just as summer begins.
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City Health Officer Dr Vera Etches confirmed on Monday that COVID-19 infections in the community are on the rise again due to rising wastewater levels, increased positivity among researchers and more outbreaks in long-term care homes and more. places .
“We are in a better position in terms of population immunity than before, but we know that the pandemic is definitely not over,” Etches told the Ottawa Health Council.
Etches said Ottawa Public Health, which now updates its COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesdays and Fridays instead of weekdays, still lacks detailed information on the options leading up in the Ottawa case, but they likely include a BA .4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants.
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BA.4 and BA.5, which cause waves in the UK and elsewhere, are highly transmitted and have been shown to evade immunity – meaning that people with previous immunity are at higher risk of being infected again than with other sub-options.
As of Friday, June 17, public health in Ottawa was aware of 451 active cases, with 162 new known cases reported last Tuesday. There were 26 confirmed patients with COVID-19 in local hospitals and 17 ongoing outbreaks in institutional settings.
The latest increase in infections comes just weeks after the previous COVID-19 wave hit the city in the spring.
This comes at a time when almost all provincial mask mandates have been revoked. They remain, by provincial order, in long-term care homes and retirees, and some hospitals have chosen to keep them. Ottawa Public Health also strongly recommended that masking continue in all health services and collection points.
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Etches said public health in Ottawa would continue to promote a COVID-19 harm reduction approach, noting that it was important for people to “recover” from social exclusion.
She encouraged people to make choices that reduce risk.
“People cannot be well by remaining isolated without contact, but we cannot ignore (COVID) levels in the community are still moderate and rising. “We are looking for a way to get the most out of the summer by choosing to reconnect in lower-risk ways,” she said.
“I think we are all tired and we are seeing a decline in COVID in the community. What we want people to understand is, yes, it is important that our well-being be together. It harms people when they remain isolated. But we need to understand that COVID is still in the community, and when they come together, they need to choose things that can reduce the risk of transmission.
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Etches encourages people to gather outdoors and wear a mask indoors when physical distancing is not possible.
She also encouraged people to receive as many eligible COVID-19 vaccines. Currently, only 56% of Ottawa residents have received a third dose. People over 60 and those who are vulnerable are entitled to a fourth dose. Many have called for this eligibility to be extended. Guidelines for vaccinating children under the age of five – something currently underway in the United States – are expected in Canada this summer, Etches said.
An independent review, meanwhile, found that public health in Ottawa has acted swiftly and swiftly to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite many challenges.
But Dr Paul Gully, a senior public health doctor who presented preliminary findings from his report to the Ottawa Health Council on Monday, said the OPH pandemic response has made it harder than the province’s practice to issue directives without warning.
“It would be useful to have more information about what the province thinks.”
His full report is expected in September.
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