Tag: Ottawa-Gatineau

Federal government’s decision to invoke Emergencies Act against convoy protests was unreasonable, court rules

Published January 23, 2024

Published by: CBC News
Published on: January 23, 2024
By Catharine Tunney

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.

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Ottawa-Gatineau community update | 2023‑12‑20

Photo of Parliament Hill, the Supreme Court, and the Ottawa River in Ottawa. There is snow on the ground and part of the river is covered with snow and ice. It’s a sunny day, with a blue sky.

Ottawa-Gatineau

Ottawa-Gatineau community update | 2023‑12‑20

Published December 20, 2023

📈 The COVID-19 wastewater viral signal for Ottawa has increased substantially (+1,735%) since a low on July 12, 2023. It is extremely high.

⚠️ The percent positivity is extremely high (16.27% in Ottawa; 27.2% in the Outaouais).

🏥 Confirmed COVID-19 patients in Ottawa hospitals: 158 ( decrease of 6).

In 2023, there have been 131 COVID-19 outbreaks at Ottawa’s hospitals so far, leading to 21 deaths and 1,061 known cases of COVID-19.

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anti-vaccine movement

Man charged for antisemitic threats against Ottawa family doctor

Published December 18, 2023

Published by: CTV News
Published on: December 18, 2023
By William Eltherington

Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth says she was subject to a threatening and antisemitic phone call against her which has led to a 39-year-old man from British Columbia being charged with hate-motivated offences on Monday.

In a press release on Monday morning, the Ottawa Police Service Hate and Crime Bias Unit say they charged a man with several offences for a phone call against a healthcare professional which also included mysoginistic and intimidating threats, but did not name the victim.

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This COVID study has been tracking immunity for 3 years. Now it’s running out of money

budget cuts

This COVID study has been tracking immunity for 3 years. Now it’s running out of money

Published December 18, 2023

Published by: CBC News
Published on: December 18, 2023
By Trevor Pritchard

A long-running study into COVID-19 immunity has unearthed promising insights on the still-mysterious disease, one of its lead researchers says — but she’s concerned its funding could soon dry up.

The Stop the Spread project, a collaboration by the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa, has been monitoring antibody responses to COVID-19 in hundreds of people since October 2020.

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convoy occupation

Did the protesters mean harm? That’s at the heart of bid to toss convoy class-action

Published December 15, 2023

Published by: CBC News
Published on: December 14, 2023
By Elyse Skura

A $300-million proposed class-action lawsuit filed against convoy protesters, donors and organizers on behalf of people who live or work in Ottawa is facing another challenge, with lawyers arguing the case seeks to unfairly limit fundamental freedoms.

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Ottawa-Gatineau

Ten additional COVID-19 deaths reported in Ottawa in past week

Published December 13, 2023

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on: December 13, 2023
By Elizabeth Payne

Ten Ottawa residents have died of COVID-19 over the past week as the pandemic wave that began in the summer continues, fueled by new sub-variants and the busy season for social gatherings.

Ottawa Public Health reported the 10 new deaths in its latest update on COVID-19, published Wednesday. A total of 1,185 Ottawa residents have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began nearly four years ago.

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Ontario

Kingston General Hospital ‘bursting at the seams’ with COVID-19 and respiratory illness patients

Published December 13, 2023

Published by: CTV News
Published on: December 13, 2023
By William Eltherington

The Kingston General Hospital says a surge of emergency department inpatients, including a day that had a near record 580 admissions, has the hospital struggling to keep up as the respiratory virus season peaks across the province.

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Ottawa-Gatineau community update | 2023‑12‑13

Ottawa-Gatineau

Ottawa-Gatineau community update | 2023‑12‑13

Published December 13, 2023

📈 The COVID-19 wastewater viral signal for Ottawa has increased substantially (+2,069%) since a low on July 12, 2023. It is extremely high.

⚠️ The 7-day average of percent positivity is extremely high (19.28%).

🏥 Confirmed COVID-19 patients in Ottawa hospitals: 164 ( increase of 8).

In 2023, there have been 129 COVID-19 outbreaks at Ottawa’s hospitals so far, leading to 20 deaths and 1,027 known cases of COVID-19.

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Ontario

Strained Kingston hospital asks sick people to skip holiday gatherings

Published December 13, 2023

Published by: CBC News
Published on: December 13, 2023
By Joseph Tunney

With a surge of patients with respiratory illnesses being cared for in its hallways, the Kingston Health Sciences Centre is reminding people to stay home if they’re feeling sick to cut back the spread — even if it means missing that holiday party.

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letter to the editor

We must invest in COVID programs

Published December 9, 2023

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on: December 9, 2023
By Mike Buckthought

Re: Ottawa Public Health to let go most remaining COVID-19 staff as province ends special pandemic funding, Dec. 3.

I’m deeply disappointed to hear that Ottawa Public Health will be cancelling COVID-19 programs, including immunization services for the general population. The pandemic is not over. According to Statistics Canada, COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death for Canadians last year.

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Ottawa-Gatineau community update | 2023‑12‑06

Ottawa-Gatineau

Ottawa-Gatineau community update | 2023‑12‑06

Published December 6, 2023

📈 The COVID-19 wastewater viral signal for Ottawa has increased substantially (+1,916%) since a low on July 12, 2023. It is extremely high.

⚠️ The 7-day average of percent positivity is extremely high (17.74%).

🏥 Confirmed COVID-19 patients in Ottawa hospitals: 156 ( decrease of 4).

In 2023, there have been 124 COVID-19 outbreaks at Ottawa’s hospitals so far, leading to 18 deaths and 995 known cases of COVID-19.

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Ottawa-Gatineau

Low rates of COVID vaccination putting the elderly at risk: medical officer of health

Published December 6, 2023

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on: December 6, 2023
By Elizabeth Payne

Nearly half of people over 80 in Ottawa have not received the latest COVID-19 vaccine, leaving them at risk for severe outcomes if they become infected, Ottawa’s medical officer of health is warning.

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Ottawa-Gatineau

COVID-19 hospitalizations higher than last December, MOH warns

Published December 4, 2023

Published by: CTV News
Published on: December 4, 2023
By Ted Raymond

Ottawa’s medical officer of health is warning that COVID-19 levels in the community are high and the number of people in hospital because of the disease is higher than it was at this time last year.

In her verbal report to the Board of Health on Monday, Dr. Vera Etches said there is a lot of COVID-19 in the community.

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Ottawa-Gatineau

Ottawa Public Health wrapping up COVID-19 operations, cutting pandemic staff

Published December 4, 2023

Published by: CTV News
Published on: December 4, 2023
By Josh Pringle

Ottawa Public Health will layoff most of its COVID-19 staff by the end of the year and wrap up its immunization programming at the end of March, as the Ontario government stops reimbursing for extraordinary costs related to the pandemic.

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Ottawa Public Health to let go most remaining COVID-19 staff as province ends special pandemic funding

A healthcare worker is administering a vaccine dose to a patient. The healthcare worker is holding the needle with their right hand. They are wearing black clothes, and there is a green background.

Ottawa-Gatineau

Ottawa Public Health to let go most remaining COVID-19 staff as province ends special pandemic funding

Published December 3, 2023

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on: December 3, 2023
By Elizabeth Payne

Ottawa Public Health will let go most of its remaining COVID-19 staff by the end of the year as the province stops directly reimbursing most costs related to the pandemic.

OPH will continue offering vaccines to the most vulnerable, including long-term care residents and recent immigrants, but will wrap up broader COVID-19 efforts by the end of March.

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Ottawa-Gatineau community update | 2023‑11‑29

Published November 29, 2023

📈 The COVID-19 wastewater viral signal for Ottawa has increased substantially (+1,826%) since a low on July 12, 2023. It is extremely high.

⚠️ The 7-day average of percent positivity is extremely high (19.94%).

🏥 Confirmed COVID-19 patients in Ottawa hospitals: 160 ( decrease of 43).

In 2023, there have been 114 COVID-19 outbreaks at Ottawa’s hospitals so far, leading to 18 deaths and 953 known cases of COVID-19.

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Ottawa-Gatineau