COVID-19 Articles Ottawa
COVID-19 Articles Ottawa
A variety of postings relating some of the more important recent issues.
2022-07-18 Ottawa Sun
COVID SURGE: Brewer Park COVID-19 assessment centre to remain open
COVID SURGE: Brewer Park COVID-19 assessment centre to remain open
As of Friday, the positivity rate in Ottawa residents was 19.2 per cent, said the Ottawa Testing Taskforce on Monday in an update.
Author of the article:Joanne Laucius
Despite plans to close the Brewer Park COVID-19 assessment centre on Wednesday, the centre will remain open indefinitely after a review of testing demand and growing levels of COVID in the community.
The high positivity rate is a reminder that the pandemic is not over. As of Thursday, there were 52 ongoing outbreaks and 29 new outbreaks in institutional settings, including 10 in long-term care homes, 19 in retirement homes, 12 in hospitals and 11 in other settings, such as group homes.
Last week, Ottawa associate medical officer of health Dr. Brent Moloughney told CTV that Ottawa Public Health is seeing a “surge” in COVID-19 cases, up from 16 per cent on June 28 and 11 per cent on June 24.
“We’re seeing here in Ottawa an increasing wastewater count, positivity rate, hospitalizations have been going up for a few weeks and now we’re seeing more outbreaks in long-term care and congregate settings,” said Moloughney.
Meanwhile, the Moodie COVID-19 care and testing centre, which closed its doors on Friday, will open later this summer at a new location at 2625 Draper Ave., the former Grant Alternative School.
“The transition from Moodie to the new location is expected to take over a month as construction, IT and clinical teams set up the new site,” said the Ottawa Testing Taskforce update.
During the transition period, The Ottawa Hospital assessment centre at 1981 Carling Ave., Suite 601, will be open for anyone over the age of 18 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Saturday.
The East Ottawa Kids COVID care clinic at 4289 Innes Rd. in Orléans will remain open Monday to Friday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday for children and youth from two months to 17 years old.
The CHEO assessment centre at the main campus, 401 Smythe Rd., is open every day from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for children and youth between the ages of two months and 18 years old.
Eligible residents are reminded to visit OttawaPublicHealth.ca/CovidTesting to book an appointment for a test or an assessment.
2022-07-17 CBC Ottawa
2022-07-17 CBC - You'll likely catch COVID-19 again and again.Will each round feel milder?
You'll likely catch COVID-19 again and again. Will each round feel milder?
Reinfections should get easier for healthy adults, but scientists say infection still comes with risks
Lauren Pelley · CBC News · Posted: Jul 17, 2022
What happens if you catch COVID-19 more than once?
A look at the science behind COVID-19 reinfection, including what to expect and who's most at risk.
By this point in the pandemic, you've likely had COVID-19 at least once. Maybe twice. Perhaps even three times, as some unfortunate Canadians have experienced, all while this virus evolved to become increasingly savvy at infecting us.
It's clear that reinfections from this coronavirus are the norm, much like with those behind the common cold. Unfortunately, that also means early speculation about one-and-done bouts of COVID-19 offering immunity against future infections has long gone out the window.
What's more hazy is just how often you can get infected with SARS-CoV-2 and whether future infections will always be milder than the first, as the virus finds a way into our bodies over and over again.
Reassuringly, scientists say that for most healthy adults — including those with extra protection from vaccination — COVID-19 infections should get easier to deal with as your immune system gains repeat training on how to handle this particular pathogen.
"Your first infection with COVID is probably — not invariably but probably — going to be the worst," said infectious diseases specialist Dr. Allison McGeer, a professor at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
"And then as you get more and more exposed to it, you get better and better protections."
Do you have a coronavirus question or news tip for CBC News? Email us at ask@cbc.ca
A transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2, isolated from a patient. Scientists say the virus is capable of reinfecting humans again and again. But just how often can it happen, and will it feel milder each time? (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
After months or even years of avoiding the virus entirely, it might come as a surprise that COVID-19 can hit you more than once.
Early in the pandemic, some scientists spouted hopes around herd immunity — that if enough people caught COVID-19 or were vaccinated against it, collective immunity against infection would reach a threshold where the virus wouldn't be able to find new human hosts.
Unfortunately, that's not easy with a coronavirus.
COVID-19 can wreak havoc on your body. So will it cause health issues decades down the road?
First identified in humans in the 1960s, viruses in this family have likely been striking us repeatedly for centuries. SARS-CoV-2 is just the newest kid on the block.
"Four of those other family members cause about 30 per cent of our common colds, and they reinfect us routinely," said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore.
"We've all had multiple bouts of other coronavirus infections, and that's where this virus was always headed. So reinfections are not something to be surprised about."
They were rare, though, throughout the early part of the pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 is hitting people again and again at this point, two-and-a-half years in, partly because we're giving it the chance.
"This would have been happening much more frequently had we not all been staying at home and keeping our distance," McGeer said. "It's not that the virus is doing anything different than the virus would have done before; it's that we're behaving differently."
Scientists say reinfections were rare throughout the early years of the pandemic in part because people were largely staying home, whereas more socializing is now giving the virus a chance to spread. (Marc-André Turgeon/CBC/Radio-Canada)
Layer in ever-more-contagious variants that are capable of dodging the front-line soldiers of our immune systems, and you've got a recipe for reinfections on a more regular basis. What's unclear is just how often this virus will strike.
Four long-studied seasonal human coronaviruses seem capable of reinfecting people every 12 months, according to research published in Nature Medicine that involved scientists tracking a group of healthy adults for more than 35 years.
But unlike that seasonal pattern, SARS-CoV-2 remains erratic — more of a constant roller-coaster than one big surge and drop in any given year.
Why an Omicron infection alone might not offer the immune boost you'd expect
In Canada and multiple other countries, a seventh wave is now underway, fuelled by yet another immune-evasive Omicron subvariant, BA.5. It's happening in the summer months — well before the typical cold and flu season — and not long after earlier waves driven by other members of the Omicron family tree.
McGeer, like many close COVID watchers, still isn't sure what path this virus will take in the long term.
"Are we probably going to settle into winter activity? Yes, eventually, but maybe not for another year or two," she said. "Is it for sure that we're going to? Nope."
Epidemiologist says COVID-19 reinfections linked to virus mutating
Epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos blamed COVID-19 reinfection risk on the virus mutating. He also said there was no evidence of future variants becoming increasingly milder.
Reinfections usually not worse than the first
What several experts who spoke to CBC News are more certain about is that subsequent COVID-19 infections should feel milder than the first. That doesn't mean a walk in the park, necessarily, but at least not as rough as your body's first encounter with this virus.
"From all the literature I've seen, when reinfections do happen with increasing frequency, they're not usually worse," said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist with the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatoon. "And that's exactly what you'd expect, because that's how the immune system works."
There are a couple of ways to train your immune system to fight off this virus faster and smarter. One is being exposed to SARS-CoV-2 directly, which comes with all the potential health consequences of an infection.
The other is getting vaccinated, allowing your body to learn about this particular pathogen without facing those risks. (Consider that option like a martial arts lesson, rather than scrapping it out in a surprise fist fight.)
Erin Wilson, a fitness teacher and actor in Halifax, has caught COVID-19 twice — the first time last December and again in July. Both times the virus hit her hard, leading to fatigue, coughing and chest congestion, but she says the second time around felt a little easier. (Mark Crosby/CBC)
If you're vaccinated and catch COVID-19, the virus might still get by your immune system's first line of defence — your neutralizing antibodies — and sneak into your cells, Rasmussen said.
"Immediately your memory T-cells from your vaccination are going to say, 'Whoa, I've seen that guy before; time to go out and start killing these cells that are infected with it,'" she explained.
In other words, a well-trained immune system can't prevent infection, but it can often rapidly control it. That means an invader that might have once wreaked havoc simply doesn't get that chance.
Omicron subvariant BA.2 raises new questions about puzzling evolution of virus behind COVID-19
So far, that's been the experience for Erin Wilson, a fitness teacher and actor in Halifax, who recently caught COVID-19 again after first getting infected last December. (She's also vaccinated.)
The first round left her exhausted and in bed for days, "completely incapacitated." Her next bout wasn't pleasant — and several days in, she was still battling chest congestion, a cough, and fatigue — but she did notice it was a little easier.
"The second time around did not knock me out as much," Wilson said.
Not every reinfection will be 'benign'
So, if you've already gotten through COVID-19 at least once before, should you throw caution to the wind and catch it again and again? Not exactly.
The virus doesn't treat everyone equally, stressed Adalja, from Johns Hopkins. "What we're learning is that not every second infection or third infection is going to be benign — and that's particularly going to be true when you're dealing with higher-risk populations."
One study focusing on U.S. veterans — who are mostly older men — found reinfections in that group appeared to come with a higher risk of death or hospitalization.
Vaccines give COVID-19 survivors a big immune boost, studies show
The paper, which hasn't yet been peer-reviewed, made headlines in recent weeks. But several experts, including Adalja, cautioned against reading too much into its early findings, which may not apply to the general population.
However, while repeat infections should feel milder for most healthy individuals, he said it's important to keep in mind your shifting risk factors for severe disease.
"Maybe there's somebody who gained a lot of weight and became obese, or developed diabetes in the ensuing time, or developed some other condition that puts them at higher risk," Adalja said. "Maybe they become immunocompromised — all of that's going to play a factor."
One study focusing on U.S. veterans — who are mostly older men — found reinfections in that group appeared to come with a higher risk of death or hospitalization. But several experts cautioned against reading too much into its early findings. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
In the elderly or in people who are immunosuppressed, medical professionals expect to see a range of poorer outcomes tied to severe reinfections, said Dr. Sameer Elsayed, a professor at Western University in London, Ont., and a consultant on infectious diseases, internal medicine and medical microbiology at the London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph's Health Care London.
That could include lung damage directly caused by the virus, he said, all the way to issues such as the aggravation of "long COVID" symptoms from a prior infection or serious secondary infections from bacteria or fungi — particularly in those individuals who require admission to an intensive care unit.
COVID-19 again? Reinfection cases raise concerns over immunity
"This latter example is also similar to asthmatics who may require repeated hospitalizations for something that is seemingly as simple as a common cold," Elsayed said. "These repeated infections cause lung damage and may potentially lead to premature death depending on their severity, but we don't see this with otherwise healthy people who keep getting common colds year after year."
So as we all face the possibility of repeat COVID-19 infections through our lifetimes, your personal risk of serious illness could change over time — and the burden of reinfections from this ever-evolving virus won't be felt equally.
2022-07-21 Ottawa Sun
'NOW IS THE TIME': Etches 'concerned' about COVID-19 wave, suggests businesses may choose to reinstate masking policies
'NOW IS THE TIME': Etches 'concerned' about COVID-19 wave, suggests businesses may choose to reinstate masking policies
“This is indicative that the level of COVID-19 is very high in Ottawa right now, higher than the January Omicron wave.".
Author of the article:Megan Gillis
Publishing date:Jul 21, 2022
Amid a summer surge of COVID-19, Ottawa’s medical officer of health says “now is the time” to adapt to the amount of the virus circulating in the city by wearing masks, staying home when sick, getting boosted and limiting contacts.
“I am concerned about this current wave,” Dr. Vera Etches said in a statement Thursday. It was the first such statement issued since mid-April.
Etches said that Ottawa Public Health “continues to strongly recommend” wearing masks indoors and outdoors when distancing is hard or impossible. Many businesses still require or encourage masking, and, “based on the current situation, others may choose to reintroduce masking policies in their place of business at this time,” she said.
Etches cited high levels of COVID-19 in Ottawa’s wastewater that are increasing “week after week.” The per cent of lab tests coming back positive is high and increasing, and both COVID-19 hospitalizations and confirmed outbreaks are increasing.
“This is indicative that the level of COVID-19 is very high in Ottawa right now, higher than the January Omicron wave,” Etches’ statement said.
Omicron and its sub-variants are much more transmissible and even people with infections earlier this year can be reinfected.
“Individually and collectively, now is the time to reassess and adapt our behaviours to the levels of COVID-19 in the community,” Etches said. “This is an important skill we will all need as we head into the fall.
“Wearing masks indoors and outdoors in crowded spaces, staying home when sick, getting booster doses, and minimizing contacts during periods of high transmission in the community are all behaviours that will help us, our families, and our loved ones.”
Etches welcomed the news Thursday that Ontario families will be able to book first shots for children aged six months to under five and second boosters for immunocompromised youth starting July 28 as “another great step forward in protecting our community.”
While rates of severe illness and hospitalization aren’t rising as fast as in previous waves, remember the virus’s potential effect on older adults, people with chronic health conditions and those who are immunocompromised or unvaccinated, she said.
People 60 and up remain at higher risk, but more than 25,000 in Ottawa have yet to get their third doses, or first boosters, and more than 88,000 still need their fourth doses, or second boosters.
“Now is the time to get your booster dose if you have yet to do so,” Etches said. “Now is also the time to reach out to friends and loved ones who are not yet vaccinated or boosted.”
She also suggested Ottawans “lead by example” if people they knew weren’t wearing masks.
In a semi-weekly update issued Tuesday, Ottawa Public Health reported three new COVID-19 deaths, 336 new cases and 1,032 active cases, although testing is limited to certain groups. There were 64 ongoing outbreaks in institutional settings such as hospitals, long-term care and group homes.
Thirty-two Ottawa residents were in hospital due to active infections, with three in intensive care units, and there was a total of 168 confirmed COVID-19 patients in local hospitals as of Sunday. Fifty-three were in hospital because of the virus, with four in ICU, and 115 were hospitalized for other reasons, including three in ICU.
2022-07-21 CBC Ottawa
Etches leaving masking decisions up to businesses
Etches leaving masking decisions up to businesses
Medical officer of health encouraging businesses to use masks, but says a citywide mandate isn’t necessary
CBC News · Posted: Jul 22, 2022 4:00 AM ET
Ottawa's medical officer of health is encouraging businesses to reintroduce masking policies as COVID-19 cases rise, but says a citywide mandate isn't necessary.
In her first statement since April, Dr. Vera Etches said businesses can lead by example to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 by reminding people to physically distance, providing hand sanitizer and requiring customers and staff to wear masks.
While the Omicron variant and its sub-variants are highly transmissible, Etches told CBC that mandates are not necessary since people aren't experiencing the same level of severe illness as they had during previous waves.
"We are in a different place in terms of immunity and our ability to handle this," Etches said, adding that young people who are vaccinated may not feel the need for increased public health measures but should consider those who are more at risk.
"There are immunocompromised people in the community. They need to go to the grocery store. They need to take transit."
Tough decision for businesses
CBC reached out to several local businesses that said they are unsure of how they will proceed and declined to be interviewed at this time.
Ryan Mallough, the vice-president of legislative affairs for Ontario with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said it's not surprising that this decision will be a difficult one.
"This summer is the first normal one a lot [of businesses] are facing in two years, and to have to make a decision or determination that could possibly deter customers … realistically, just small businesses are not in a position to do that," Mallough said.
Still, he said the fact that it's a choice and that Etches isn't recommending the city bring back mandates is a positive, though consumer confidence is still a concern.
"It's been two years of almost daily announcements where someone was coming out and saying even though things are open again, limit your interactions, essential trips only," he said.
"We want to make sure that people still feel comfortable going out whether that is masked or unmasked."
2022-07-21 CBC Ottawa
Time to take 7th COVID wave seriously, Etches warns
Time to take 7th COVID wave seriously, Etches warns
Ottawa's top doctor urges residents to limit contacts, resume masking
CBC News · Posted: Jul 21, 2022
As Ottawa’s seventh wave arrives, residents should take steps to reduce transmission, OPH says
Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, says a return to outdoor activities and wearing masks in crowded indoor spaces will help cut COVID-19 transmission as cases rise once again.
Ottawa residents should consider limiting in-person contact and businesses should consider requiring customers to wear masks indoors to protect the most vulnerable during what's become a concerning seventh wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city's medical officer of health urged Thursday.
COVID-19 levels are currently very high in the capital, Dr. Vera Etches wrote in a new statement, her first since April.
Key pandemic indicators — hospitalizations, test positivity, the number of outbreaks and amount of coronavirus measured in the city's wastewater — are all on the rise, she said.
Now, Etches says it's time for further measures.
What’s driving the rise in COVID-19 cases in Ottawa
Doug Manuel, a senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital, says an increase in social gatherings and a lack of long-term immunity is leading to a rise in infections stemming from the more transmissible BA.5 coronavirus subvariant.
She's now recommending wearing masks in crowded outdoor spaces and seeing fewer people in person. Businesses can lead by example by bringing back certain measures, she said.
Familiar guidance about wearing masks indoors, staying home when sick and getting booster shots remains unchanged.
"If you haven't yet taken this wave seriously, now's a good time to start," said OPH in its weekly snapshot on Twitter.
Last week, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) warned the tens of thousands of residents who have been vaccinated but haven't received a booster shot that they're no longer adequately protected against newer Omicron subvariants.
"Those aged 60 and over remain at high risk for severe illness and complications from COVID-19, yet over 25,000 Ottawa residents over the age of 60 have yet to access their third dose (first booster), and over 88,000 still require their fourth dose (second booster)," Etches said.
She welcomed Thursday's news that Ontario is opening COVID-19 vaccine appointments next week for children aged six months to five years old, along with fourth doses for immunocompromised youth ages 12 to 17.