COVID-19: Ontario reports 574 new cases as shutdown restrictions lift – Ottawa Citizen

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Things you should know, briefly

• Ottawa police to step up patrols in Market and downtown, warn of ‘zero tolerance’ for disorderly behaviour
• Mooney’s Bay Park will close at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights, for the next two weekends
• OPH reports 20 new cases, no new deaths, hospitalizations drop
• Ontario government announces extension of temporary wage boost for PSWs until Aug. 23.

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There’s a buzz of now-permissible activity in Ottawa Friday, with the move at 12:01 a.m. into the first phase of the provincial plan to reopen Ontario from pandemic shutdown.

Patios are open, clothing and other “discretionary” retail stores are welcoming customers back, in-person, and athletes and fitness enthusiasts can resume outdoor training in small groups.

See an outdoor gathering of up to 10 people? Check your instinct to call bylaw, if so inclined –– that’s allowed now!

Ottawa’s medical officer of heath, Dr. Vera Etches, did have some advice for people looking to spend time with those they don’t live with, in this new era of increased freedom: choose lower-risk ways of connecting. Do so outside, and keep two metres of distance — you don’t need a mask, unless you get closer.

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Bank Street restaurant Banditos wasted no time in opening, welcoming a slew of guests one minute after midnight on Friday. Its 100-seat patio was full for two hours straight until closing, said co-owner Matt Loudon.

The lineup for Banditos began at 11:30 p.m. Thursday and “did get a little bit crazy at times,” Loudon said. Despite admonitions from staff, some people were not social distancing and some were not wearing masks, he said.

“Overall most of the people were great. But having to restart the restaurant and police the sidewalk was very challenging,” Loudon said. “We can only tell them so many times before they tell us where to go.”

Loudon said Friday’s lunch service at Banditos was much more casual and normal, not “open up the floodgates” as the midnight shift had been.

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Leanne Moussa, managing partner of Working Title Kitchen in Sandy Hill, said Friday’s lunch service on her restaurant’s 50-seat stone patio was “busy” and “lovely.”

Moussa added she was fully booked with reservations for dinner Friday and she anticipated a busy weekend.

The province’s science table had plenty of good news to share Thursday — cases, positivity, hospitalizations have all dropped off, and modelling suggests we can look forward to “a much better summer.”

But that’s not without caveats. Chief among them, the possibility that the more transmissible, potentially more dangerous Delta variant could throw a wrench into Ontario’s progress. A first vaccine dose is believed to be less effective against this variant, which hasn’t taken hold in Ottawa yet, but is expected to do so.

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There are some things that authorities need to do to guard against a fourth wave, according to the science table, related to vaccination, testing and contact tracing. But as co-chair Adalsteinn Brown noted yesterday, “there is also our own choices in this.”

And what are those? Getting (fully) vaccinated, tested if you’re sick, and following the public health measures that are still in place.

Taken together, Brown explained, these actions are a recipe for a good summer, and continuing progress through the fall.

Ontario reported 574 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, bringing the seven-day average in the province to 568.

In terms of active cases, the hardest-hit areas of the province are currently the Porcupine health unit region (430 active cases per 100,000 people), Peel (83 active per 100,000), Waterloo (68), and Toronto (58). Ottawa, comparatively, has 42 active cases per 100,000.

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Friday’s new case total included 22 in Ottawa, three in Renfrew County and District, two in Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington, and one in Leeds, Grenville & Lanark. No new cases were added to the total in the Eastern Ontario heath unit region.

Four additional deaths were logged provincially, while the number of people in ICU because of COVID-19 dropped by 10 in the last day, to 440.

More than 10.8 million vaccine doses have been administered in Ontario, while the number of fully vaccinated people exceeds 1.5 million. According to data from the province shared Thursday, 73 per cent of adult Ontarians had received at least one dose, while more than 11 per cent were fully immunized.

Meanwhile, personal and direct support workers will continue to receive a wage boost from the government until Aug. 23, Ontario announced Friday.

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The extension of the temporary wage increase, in place since October and applicable to more than 158,000 workers, will “help stabilize, attract and retain the workforce needed to provide a high level of care during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the government said, in a news release.

“The province will continue to review the wage increase to inform next steps after August 23, 2021.”

Eligible workers in long-term care, home and community care, and children, community and social services get an extra $3 hourly, under the temporary enhancement program, while those in public hospitals get $2.

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Latest COVID-19 news in Ottawa

Expect to see more police at beaches, parks, in the ByWard Market and downtown Rideau area this weekend, starting Friday night.

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The Ottawa Police Services has warned that officers “will take a zero tolerance approach to disorderly behaviours, such as Liquor Licence Act offences and criminal activity that can negatively impact residents, visitors and businesses.”

Cops will also be helping City of Ottawa bylaw officers as they make sure people are respecting the rules that currently apply under the province’s reopening plan.

OPS advised that people can call 311 to report rule-breaking (or 911 if there’s an emergency or crime in progress).

Meanwhile, Mooney’s Bay Park will close at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday night, this weekend and next, area Coun. Riley Brockington announced Friday.

It’s part of a city initiative “to address a number of issues in the park late at night,” Brockington tweeted.

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The impact of the early closure will be assessed (city parks are generally open until 11 p.m.), and a decision will be made on summer hours.

Ottawa Public Health reported 20 additional cases of COVID-19 Friday, while the number of active cases in the city has continued to decline, and now sits at 363.

The number of Ottawans hospitalized with COVID-19 dropped to 21, with 3 in ICU.

No additional deaths were logged in the last day, and no new outbreaks were reported locally.

Latest COVID-19 news in Quebec

Quebec reported 180 new cases on Friday, bringing the total number of people infected to 372,656.

There was one new death between June 4-9, bringing the total number of deaths to 11,167.

Hospitalizations continued to decline, dropping by seven for a total of 244. There were 59 people in intensive care, for a decrease of five.
The Outaouais reported 12 new cases, for a total of 12,340 cases since the pandemic began. The death toll remains unchanged at 214.

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The province administered a total of 115,333 doses in the most recent period. There has been a total of 6,513,823 doses received by Quebecers.

Latest COVID-19 news in Canada

At a pandemic briefing Friday, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said that as a country, “we continue to make good progress” with seven-day averages for daily cases, deaths, hospitalization and ICU occupancy all “steadily declining.”

More than 27.7 million vaccine doses have been administered across the country, with 70 per cent of eligible Canadians, aged 12 and older, having received at least one dose as of June 4, and nine per cent being fully vaccinated.

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