COVID-19 traffic light has turned from red to orange, says Etches

If you compare the status of the fight to contain COVID-19 to a traffic light, Ottawa is out of the red and into the orange, says the city’s medical officer of health.

In a presentation to city council Wednesday, Dr. Vera Etches shared that the number of confirmed cases in institutions and in the community continues to drop, as do the number of cases that can’t be linked to a known exposure to the virus.

Hospitalizations are decreasing, and so, too, is ICU occupancy.

“We’re out of the red status — but we have a small margin of safety,” said Etches. “We are in an orange zone, where we’re not saying ‘just stay home’ anymore. People are starting to go about work, which is very important, they’re starting to access services. We want people to do that in a smart way.”

For example: Limiting your contacts, choosing outdoor activities and wearing a non-medical mask when a two-metre physical distance from others isn’t possible.

OPH also offered some examples of high-risk activities: playing contact sports, having guests over or going to crowded places.

“We need to learn how to live with this virus,” said Etches, who noted that projections show if physical distancing were to drop in the next few weeks by just 20 per cent, Ottawa could start to see a rise in hospitalizations that could overwhelm local institutions.

“This is the balancing act that we’re in. We’re monitoring, we’ll provide feedback, we’ll help people know how they’re doing,” said Etches.

She also noted that mental health concerns appear to be rising locally. OPH refers people in crisis to the Ottawa Distress Centre, and it’s seen its highest-ever call volume with more than 9,000 calls over the past two months.

Meanwhile, the Ontario government is taking over the management of five more long-term care homes, Premier Doug Ford announced Wednesday.

All five are in the GTA, while four — Eatonville Care, Hawthorne Place, Altamonte Care and Orchard Villa — are homes named in a disturbing Canadian Armed Forces report made public Tuesday. The fifth home is the Camilla Care Community in Mississauga.