COVID-19: Ontario reports 76 new cases (but data missing); 12 new cases in Ottawa; Fifth Transpo operator stricken
Author of the article:
Taylor Blewett
Publishing date:
Aug 20, 2020 • Last Updated 33 minutes ago • 6 minute read
Students were welcomed back for the first day of school at Elementary School Catholic Jonathan-Pitre, Wednesday, August 19, 2020. ASHLEY FRASER / Postmedia
What you need to know, at a glance
- Ottawa Public Health reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday
- Eight patients are hospitalized with the disease (down three in the last day) including one in ICU.
- There are four ongoing outbreaks of the virus in local institutions
- Meanwhile, another OC Transpo driver has tested positive for COVID-19 – the fifth since Aug. 10.
- Ontario reported just 76 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, but that excludes data from 11 public health units
- In a tweet Thursday, Health Minister Christine Elliott chalked up the missing data to a problem with the province’s integrated Public Health Information System
- “These 11 units reported a total of eight cases yesterday, and while not a direct proxy for today it’s an indication of how many cases may be under-reported,” Elliott wrote
- One new death was also reported by the province.
- The number of active cases of COVID-19 provincewide sits at 964, including 35 people in hospital, 15 in ICU and eight on ventilators.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his determination to set partisanship aside, particularly during a global pandemic
- The premier said he recently messaged Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who was also recently made finance minister and said “You and I are blazing a new trail that this country’s never seen before and I think it’s a good trail.”
- Ford said he’s heard positive feedback from the public about the spirit of collaboration between Ontario, Canada and municipal governments
- The provincial government announced Thursday it’s extending until Sept. 22 all but two ‘emergency orders’
Ontario reported just 76 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, but that excludes data from 11 of the province’s public health units and is likely an underestimation of the true count.
In a tweet Thursday, Health Minister Christine Elliott chalked up the missing data to a problem with the province’s integrated Public Health Information System, which provides daily case data.
“These 11 units reported a total of eight cases yesterday, and while not a direct proxy for today it’s an indication of how many cases may be under-reported,” Elliott wrote.
One new death was also reported by the province.
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The number of active cases of COVID-19 provincewide sits at 964, including 35 people in hospital, 15 in ICU and eight on ventilators.
In Orillia, at his daily news conference, Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his determination to set partisanship aside, particularly during a global pandemic.
The premier said he recently messaged Chrystia Freeland – Canada’s deputy prime minister and new finance minister – and said “You and I are blazing a new trail that this country’s never seen before and I think it’s a good trail.”
Ford said he’s heard positive feedback from the public about the spirit of pandemic collaboration between his government, the federal government, and municipal governments.
“When we’re going through this pandemic, it’s critical that we’re all pulling in the same direction … We won’t agree on everything, but there’s so many more things we can agree on, and work together.
“I could give you 10 pages of al the times Chrystia and I have talked late at night and said – ‘Hey, let’s get this done.’
“’Put all that political nonsense behind us, we get more things done a lot quicker.’”
The premier also announced the hiring of 200 more Ontario Provincial Police officers.
“Everyone knows I absolute love our police officers,” said Ford. “I have to thank all of our police officers, including the OPP and the support staff, for being on the frontlines during this pandemic to protect both public health and public safety.”
The hiring wasn’t a pandemic-related decision. In fact, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones noted that the pandemic actually delayed the announcement.
It’s a response to recommendations made by an OPP independent review panel, and an attempt to provide the OPP with needed resources and to protect members’ occupational and mental health, according to the province.
The provincial government announced Thursday it’s extending until Sept. 22 all but two orders under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act. Formerly known as emergency orders, these include the rules for Stage 3 reopening, the management of long-term care homes experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, and distribution of pandemic pay.
“The extensions provide the government with the necessary flexibility to address the ongoing risks and effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and ensure important measures remain in place to protect vulnerable populations,” the province noted, in a news release.
The two orders set to expire involve the redeployment of school board staff to congregate care settings, and the suspension of limitations periods on provincial laws and regulations.
Local
Ottawa Public Health reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday (Local data sometimes varies slightly from provincial numbers).
Currently, eight patients are hospitalized with the disease (down three in the last day) including one in ICU.
There are four ongoing outbreaks of the virus in local institutions – the Carling Family Shelter, a Mothercraft Ottawa home child care facility (one case in a child), the Saint-Louis Residence long-term care home (one staff case) and the Billingswood Manor LTC home (four resident, three staff cases).
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,758 cases of COVID-19 and 265 deaths have been reported by OPH.
Thursday’s provincial case count also noted a new case in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington. None of the other public health units in eastern Ontario reported any new cases Thursday.
Meanwhile, another OC Transpo driver has tested positive for COVID-19 – the fifth since Aug. 10.
Transpo reported the new case on Wednesday, and while the agency is working with OPH to notify anyone who might have been in close contact with the driver,
it has released a list of the driver’s routes on Aug. 12 and 13.
Those dates fell in the 48 hours prior to the driver’s symptoms showing up. Anyone concerned about exposure to COVID-19 can contact Ottawa Public Health at 613-580-6744 or visit
ottawapublichealth.ca.
Another person at the city-run Carling Family Shelter has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases there to nine.
Last week, the city confirmed eight cases among members of four families living at the facility. All were moved to a family isolation centre and are receiving case management services through Ottawa Public Health (and the shelter.)
Twelve families remain onsite at the Carling Family Shelter, and they will be moved into isolation until Monday.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is taking the Ministry of Education up on its decision to allow schools boards to adopt a two-week staggered return to the classroom if they wish.
According to new back-to-school plans released Wednesday, “The official first day of school is Thursday, Sept. 3, but the start will be staggered over a two-week period,” the board said.
“To help adjust to the new health and safety measures, not all students will start on the same day. Instead, students in different schools and students in different grades may start on different days.”
More information is to be released the last week of August.
OCDSB has also released a new schedule for secondary students, that will see students who opt for in-person learning attend school every second day for a full day – as opposed to a half-day, as was originally proposed, to the dismay of many parents. The other weekdays will be spent learning remotely.
What you need to know, at a glance
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