Ottawa is seeing a spike in the number of novel coronavirus cases on Monday as city staff are proposing expansions to the local mandatory mask bylaw.
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) recorded 24 new cases of the virus on Monday. The latest daily report follows a spike of 36 cases on Friday and 21 cases added to the city’s COVID-19 totals across Saturday and Sunday.
OPH says there are 156 active cases of the virus in Ottawa, with nine people hospitalized with COVID-19.
Ottawa has now seen 2,839 cases of the virus since the pandemic began. The number of deaths linked to COVID-19 remained unchanged at 266 on Monday.
There were no new coronavirus outbreaks reported on Monday, either. There are six ongoing outbreaks at institutions such as long-term care homes, shelters and daycares in Ottawa, according to the OPH dashboard.
As Ottawa city council prepares to return from its summer break on Wednesday, staff have proposed a series of extensions to the mandatory mask bylaw first instituted on July 15.
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Firstly, the local medical officer of health and Ottawa’s head of bylaw propose extending the temporary bylaw mandating mask-wearing in enclosed public spaces through to the end of October.
Staff also propose including common areas of condos and apartment buildings in the order.
A staff report prepared in advance of Wednesday’s council meeting says residents and building managers have told OPH and the city that signage recommending mask usage in residential buildings has not been effective.
The revised bylaw would require anyone entering enclosed common areas to wear a mask and make signage and hand sanitizer mandatory at the entrances to multi-unit complexes.
Another proposal could see mask rules extended to certain outdoor spaces.
The staff report says there have been a “number of instances of large gatherings” in Ottawa over the past few months where physical distancing wasn’t possible and masks weren’t worn.
The proposal would see council delegate authority to Anthony DiMonte, the head of bylaw, to identify “high-risk areas” or “zones” of the city where masks would be required during certain days and hours of the week. He would also have the power to rescind such orders if risk was “sufficiently reduced.”
Staff say the delegated authority would provide a “timely response to emerging issues.”
Council will consider the bylaw extensions at its meeting on Aug. 26.
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