Dr. Angela Cheung heads up a network of scientists and health practitioners studying long covid. She’s also a senior physician-scientist at University Health Network in…
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Topic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau
Ottawa Public Health stats mainly stable for COVID-19, flu and RSV
Respiratory infections in Ottawa showed little change over the last week.
Ottawa Public Health reported 83 new confirmed cases and three new deaths during the period ending Feb. 27.
Last week, there were 130 new cases and two additional deaths.
This week’s reading brought the total number of Ottawa cases to 98,254 since the pandemic began in 2020, while 1,230 people have died.
The health agency’s weekly respiratory infections dashboard showed 12 new hospitalizations for flu patients in the seven days ending Feb. 24, for a total of 199 this season. The report described flu levels as very high, the same description as last week’s data.
The report showed 21 new hospitalizations for COVID-19, for a total of 1,064, and three more hospitalizations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The COVID-19 and RSV results were described as “moderate.”
Comments closedTopic: Waterloo RegionView all posts for the topic: Waterloo Region
Senior dies of COVID-19, raising death toll to 11 this year in Waterloo Region
A man in his 70s has died of COVID-19, the regional public health unit announced Friday in a weekly update.
This raises the death toll to 11 this year where the pandemic disease was a main or contributing cause.
Hospitalizations for the disease are stable and relatively low, averaging 13 patients per day on Feb. 17. This compares to a typical day in the pandemic with 27 patients in three local hospitals.
Comments closedTopic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines
Fall COVID-19 vaccine cut illness risk by half overall
The fall COVID-19 vaccine cut the risk of COVID-19 illness by about half overall, and by 67 per cent for those with a previous infection, according to new research from the Canadian network that has long tracked the performance of the annual flu shot.
This is the first time the Canadian Sentinel Practitioner Surveillance Network, which is comprised of hundreds of primary care providers in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, produced mid-season estimates of the effectiveness of immunization against COVID-19.
Comments closedTopic: convoy occupationView all posts for the topic: convoy occupation
Ottawa Bylaw says police warned officers not to ticket ‘Freedom Convoy’ demonstrators due to ‘risk of escalation’
The City of Ottawa’s general manager of emergency and protective services says there is no double standard when it comes to how Ottawa Bylaw issues tickets to protesters who violate things like noise bylaws.
His comments come after the city announced this week that bylaw tickets were not issued to protesters in Ottawa for the “Freedom Convoy” anniversary rally on Saturday, despite the fact that a group of protesters set off fireworks in a parking lot on Queen Street, in violation of the city’s fireworks bylaw.
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Topic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau
Ottawa-Gatineau community update | 2024‑02‑15
📈 The COVID-19 wastewater viral signal for Ottawa is very high. The signal has decreased substantially since a peak around January 12, 2024. Levels are still about 1,050% higher than the value during a low point on July 12, 2023. The signal has increased during the first week of February 2024.
⚠️ The percent positivity is high (9.39% in Ottawa; 12.0% in the Outaouais).
Comments closedTopic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario
Ford government facing lawsuit over expansion of Pickering care home where dozens died during COVID
A health advocacy coalition and the daughter of a deceased long-term-care resident have launched a court challenge against the Ministry of Long-term Care’s approval of the expansion of a Pickering home where the Canadian military reported disturbing conditions during the pandemic.
The challenge announced Tuesday calls for a judicial review of the ministry’s decision to approve an 87-bed expansion of Orchard Villa long-term-care home and a new 30-year licence for its parent company, Southbridge Care Homes.
The home would also redevelop 131 of its 233 existing long-term care beds.
Orchard Villa was one of five homes that the military entered in April 2020, when it reported inadequate staff training and resident care within the facility. According to the recent court filing, 206 of Orchard Villa’s 233 residents had COVID by spring 2020. During the first wave, 71 residents died at the home.
Comments closedTopic: Waterloo RegionView all posts for the topic: Waterloo Region
Group of University of Waterloo students demanding improved response to COVID-19-related issues
A group of students at the University of Waterloo (UW) have penned an open letter to administration demanding the institution meet certain standards of care due to its ‘silence and inaction about the ongoing health crisis.’
Their group, called the Covid Action, Response and Equity (CARE) Coalition UW, is made up of about 10 students attending the university.
Comments closedTopic: convoy occupationView all posts for the topic: convoy occupation
Convoy organizers claim Ottawa police board should pay damages in proposed class-action lawsuit
Convoy protest organizers defending a proposed class-action lawsuit now argue the Ottawa Police Services Board should be on the hook for any potential damages to be paid out, claiming protesters were following police directions when they parked hundreds of trucks in downtown Ottawa during the 2022 demonstration.
“None of the defendants … had originally expected to park any vehicles on the streets of downtown Ottawa as part of the protest,” according to a new third-party claim filed by the lawyer for the defendants, which include organizers Tamara Lich, Chris Barber and Pat King.
Comments closedTopic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau
COVID-19 cases continue downward trend
COVID-19 infections showed another drop in the last seven days, with Ottawa Public Health reporting 144 new cases as of Tuesday.
That compares with 177 new cases reported last week and 264 new cases the week before.
The health agency reported five new deaths from COVID-19, compared with four a week earlier.
Comments closedTopic: convoy occupationView all posts for the topic: convoy occupation
Judge tosses motion to dismiss proposed class-action lawsuit against convoy participants
Downtown Ottawa residents and business owners who launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against organizers of the 2022 convoy protest moved one step closer to having their day in court as a judge tossed a defence motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
“There is sufficient basis to conclude that the plaintiffs have a meritorious case,” Superior Court Justice Calum MacLeod said in his ruling, released Monday.
“There is evidence that certain plaintiffs were subjected to what they contend to have been extreme amounts of noise, horn honking, incessant diesel fumes and other pollution, blockage of the streets and intimidation.
Comments closedTopic: convoy occupationView all posts for the topic: convoy occupation
Lawsuit against convoy organizers moves forward
Comments closedThere is evidence that certain plaintiffs were subjected to what they contend to have been extreme amounts of noise, horn honking, incessant diesel fumes and other pollution, blockage of the streets and intimidation. There is evidence that plaintiffs had difficulty accessing their properties and that business was disrupted, reservations cancelled, and revenue negatively impacted.
Topic: TorontoView all posts for the topic: Toronto
Homeless people in Toronto more likely to get COVID again compared to housed population: study
People who are homeless have high rates of COVID-19 reinfection, putting the health of an already vulnerable population at further risk, a study published Friday in the BMC Infectious Diseases journal says.
Homeless people in Toronto who had COVID-19 were more than twice as likely to get it again as people who had housing, said lead author Lucie Richard, a senior research associate at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital.
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Topic: take actionView all posts for the topic: take action
Ottawa: Don’t trash the COVID-19 dashboard
📣 Let Ottawa Public Health, Ottawa’s mayor, and city councillors know you want continued access to the city’s COVID-19 dashboard.
✉️ Send letters to let them know you want continued access to updated data in the COVID-19 dashboard, and elsewhere on the City of Ottawa’s website. You can use your own email software to send the letters.
Comments closedTopic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau
Will Ottawa Public Health stop updating its COVID-19 dashboard?
Ottawa Public Health is clarifying the confusion that has been circulating on social media around its plans to phase out its COVID-19 dashboard.
While the current COVID-19 dashboard will be discontinued in February, the health unit pledges to continue to give updates about COVID-19 and respiratory illnesses circulating in the capital.
Comments closedTopic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau
High COVID levels persist as other illnesses dip
Flu numbers dropped again over the last week, according to the latest data from Ottawa Public Health (OPH), and RSV trends did the same. Flu levels remain high and RSV’s are more moderate.
The COVID-19 picture remains generally high and stable.
Meanwhile, both the number of respiratory-related and overall emergency room visits in the city have dropped for three straight weeks.
Comments closedTopic: convoy occupationView all posts for the topic: convoy occupation
Federal government’s decision to invoke Emergencies Act against convoy protests was unreasonable, court rules
A federal judge says the Liberal government’s use of the Emergencies Act in early 2022 to clear convoy protesters was unreasonable.
“I conclude that there was no national emergency justifying the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the decision to do so was therefore unreasonable and ultra vires,” Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley wrote in a Tuesday decision. “Ultra vires” is a Latin term used by courts to refer to actions beyond the scope of the law.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters at a cabinet retreat in Montreal that the government plans to appeal the decision.
Comments closedTopic: TorontoView all posts for the topic: Toronto
Toronto may be past its flu peak, but COVID-19 remains high, public health agency says
Toronto likely reached its influenza season peak in December, but according to Toronto Public Health’s latest respiratory illness update, COVID-19 infections are expected to remain high for now.
The percentage of positive influenza tests dropped to 6.6 per cent the week of Dec. 31 to Jan. 6, down from 15.6 per cent the week prior, Toronto Public Health (TPH) told the city’s Board of Health Monday. When it comes to COVID-19, positivity dropped only slightly to 17.6 per cent for the week of Dec. 31 to Jan. 6 from 18.6 per cent the week before.
But getting over the influenza peak doesn’t mean there aren’t still high levels of the illness in the city.
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