Ottawa officially in COVID-19 pandemic's 2nd wave, says city's medical officer of health

Ottawa's medical officer of health has indicated the city is experiencing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When asked by a reporter whether Ottawa is experiencing a second wave, Dr. Vera Etchessaid Friday that yes, she believes the city is.

"It's the speed of the increase that concerns us. We can't sustain a rapid rise in cases," she said.

At a news conference on Friday, Etches definedthe second wave as a growingpercentage of people testing positive along with the number of people getting tested.

"The idea of a wave is that the number of COVID tests that are positive, the number of people who are carrying the virus in our community is growing," Etches said. "So we see an increase in the number being detected."

Etches said what's causing the virus to spread is people'sactions withclose contacts,families andgatherings.

WATCH | Dr. Vera Etches on how to identify a second wave:

How to identify a 'second wave' of COVID-19 infections

4 years ago

Duration 1:10

Ottawa's medical officer of health Vera Etches explains what the phrase "second wave" really means and how to identify when it happens.

"The challenge comes when that growth is too rapid and if it is sustained," shesaid.

The confirmation comes as Ottawa Public Health (OPH)confirmed63new cases of COVID-19in the city on Friday,bringingthe number of residents who've tested positive to 3,549.

There have been 322 newly confirmed cases in this week's OPH reports, the second-highest weekly total since the start of the pandemic.

The 574 cases so far in September arejust seven shy of May's figures,and the monthly total may eventually come close to the 1,103 cases logged in April.

The city's rolling five-day average of the number of people diagnosed each dayis now 55, surpassing the previous high set in late April.

Etches said the recent numbers show Ottawans got a bit too "relaxed" in August, butshe's confident the city can bring the numbers back down again.

"People in Ottawa, they've done it before. They did it in the first wave, but they did it in July as well when we started to see an increase," she said.

"[The number of positive cases]came back down when people increased the distance between each other."

WATCH | How long wave will last 'up to us,' Etches says:

How long will Ottawas new wave of cases last? Thats up to us, OPH says

4 years ago

Duration 0:59

Vera Etches, medical officer of health, says the number of cases in this latest wave of COVID-19 infections will depend on how many people adhere to physical distancing and mask wearing requirements.

The fullFriday report from OPH notes that 25 additional cases are now considered resolved,for a total of 2,918.

There are also 38 more known active cases, for a total of 458. There were 219 as of Sept. 1.

Eleven people are getting COVID-19 treatment in a hospital, the report says.None are in an ICU.

About two-thirds of the people whose cases were added to the system in this report are younger than age 40.

The reports from OPH don't necessarily reflect how many people tested positive for COVID-19 on the day they're made public; rather, they indicate the number of new cases OPH is notified of as of 2 p.m. the previous day.

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Testing continues to be an issue in and around Ottawa, with its Moodie Drive site already at capacity when it opened Friday at 9 a.m.

Two pop-up sites have been set up at Ottawa schools, and more capacity has been added at the city's Heron Road site.

Ontario reported401 new cases of COVID-19Friday, the highest one-day total in more than three months.

Quebec has logged 297 new cases.

Police across that province will be checking bars and restaurants this weekend to see if they're following public health rules around crowd size, mask use and acceptable activities.

The premiers of both provinces are in Ottawa for ameeting and announcement today.