7 new coronavirus cases in Ottawa as Stage 3 begins Friday

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) has identified seven new cases of the novel coronavirus Friday as numerous businesses reopen in the city under Stage 3.

OPH says there are currently 76 active cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, in Ottawa.

There have now been 2,189 lab-confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Ottawa since the pandemic began, according to OPH figures.

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There were no new deaths linked to COVID-19 to report on Friday for the third-straight week, leaving Ottawa’s death toll of the pandemic at 263.

One more person with COVID-19 has been hospitalized since Thursday’s report, however, with four patients now in hospital with the disease.

Friday’s report came with news of two new institutional outbreaks in Ottawa, bringing the total up to four.

The latest include an outbreak at the Jardin Royal Garden retirement home and a resurgence of the virus at the Madonna Care Community long-term care home, which already faced a two-month outbreak earlier in the pandemic that saw 159 cases and 49 deaths linked to COVID-19.

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Ottawa officially entered the Stage 3 of Ontario’s reopening plan amid the novel coronavirus pandemic on Friday morning.

Movie theatres, gyms and dine-in restaurants are now clear to welcome back the public.

Ottawa council officially passed a temporary bylaw earlier this week mandating the use of masks in enclosed, public spaces.

Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, said in a statement Friday that residents should assess their own levels of risk before engaging in activities, noting that “no activity can be made completely safe” while the virus is present in the community.

She added that even with newfound freedoms returning under Stage 3, residents must take a long-term view of the virus to keep the rates of infection under control and maintain the capacity of the city’s healthcare system.

“It is important to shift to the long-term view and to be realistic. Until there is a vaccine available, we must learn to do things differently to continue to protect each other,” she said.

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