INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SUB-COMMITTEEAGENDA 821 JUNE 2010 SOUS-COMITÉ DE LA TECHNOLOGIE DE L’INFORMATIONORDRE DU JOUR 8LE 21 JUIN 2010



Board of Health Corporate Seal

Ottawa Board of Health
MINUTES 15
Monday, February 8, 2021, 5:00 PM
By Electronic Participation
Contact for the Ottawa Board of Health:
Diane Blais, Board of Health Secretary
613-580-2424, ext. 21544
[email protected]

Board Members:
Chair: K. Egli
Vice-Chair: T. DeGiovanni
Members: E. Banham, J. Cloutier, E. El-Chantiry, G. Gower, T. Kavanagh, L. Leikin, S. Menard, S. Pinel, P. Tilley

The Ottawa Board of Health met via Zoom on Monday, February 8, 2021 beginning at 5:00 PM.

The Board of Health Secretary presided over the beginning of the meeting, up to and including the confirmation of the Chair.

Councillor Keith Egli, Chair of the Board of Health, presided over the balance of the meeting.


 

 

ROLL CALL

All members participated.

 

REGRETS

No regrets were filed.

 

DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST (INCLUDING THOSE ORIGINALLY ARISING FROM PRIOR MEETINGS)

No declarations of interest were filed.

 

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

Confirmation of minutes of the meeting of November 30, 2020.

CONFIRMED

 

COMMUNICATIONS

Seven communication items have been received (held on file with the Board of Health Secretary).

 

MOTION TO INTRODUCE REPORTS

 

Motion 15/1

Moved by Member Banham

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the report titled Confirmation of the Chair and Vice-Chair, the Chair of the Board of Health Verbal Report, the Medical Officer of Health Verbal Report, and the reports titled: Lessons Learned Working with Long-Term Care Homes (LTCHs) During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Covid-19 Pandemic Response – Looking Ahead and Building Back Better and Ottawa Public Health’s Strategic Plan for 2019-2022 – 2020 Year in Review, be received and considered;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Rules of Procedure be suspended to receive and consider the report titled Ottawa Public Health Submission to the Government of Ontario on 2021 Budget Consultations given the submission deadline of February 12, 2020.

CARRIED

 

1.

CONFIRMATION OF THE CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR

 

ACS2021-OPH-BOH-0001

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit:

1.        Confirm the election of Councillor Keith Egli as Chair for 2021, to be confirmed at the first meeting of each year of its term as required by the Health Protection and Promotion Act; and

2.        Confirm the election of Member Tammy DeGiovanni as Vice-Chair for 2021, to be confirmed at the first meeting of each year of its term as required by the Health Protection and Promotion Act.

 

CARRIED

 

Following a ‘Consent Agenda’ process, the Board considered the held items in the order in which they appear on the Agenda.

 

2.

CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH VERBAL REPORT

 

ACS2021-OPH-BOH-0002

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this verbal report for information.

 

RECEIVED

 

Chair Egli began by sharing news of the Provincial Government’s announcement about gradually lifting COVID-19 restrictions and returning to a regionally applied colour-coded system. He talked about one recent and two upcoming mental health initiatives. Specifically, the January 19 Mental Health Expert Tips live session on YouTube, the Youth Mental Health and Addictions Virtual Town Hall, planned for February 11th, and the early March launch of the second edition of the Your Minute Video Campaign. He then noted that February is Heart Health Month and provided tips for staying healthy. In closing, he shared the news of Vice-Chair DeGiovanni’s recent promotion as CHEO’s Chief Nurse and Senior Clinical Vice President and offered congratulations.

The discussion on this item lasted approximately 10 minutes. The report was then received by the Board. The attached memo includes the Chair’s Verbal Update.

 

3.

MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH VERBAL REPORT

 

ACS2021-OPH-MOH-0001

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this verbal report for information.

 

RECEIVED

 

COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 testing of school communities and Ottawa Public Health’s financial situation. In closing, she talked about the local situation with respect to the Provincial announcement about the gradual lifting of restrictions and the return to a regionally applied colour-coded system.

Following her verbal update, Dr. Etches responded to questions from Board Members. The discussion on this item lasted approximately 55 minutes. The report was then received by the Board. The attached memo includes the Medical Officer of Health’s Verbal Update.

 

4.

LESSONS LEARNED WORKING WITH LONG-TERM CARE HOMES (LTCHs) DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

 

ACS2021-OPH-HPS-0001

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit:

1.        Receive, for information, key lessons learned from working with Long-Term Care Homes (LTCHs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, as described in this report;

2.        Approve Ottawa Public Health’s recommendations for strengthening the prevention and management of infectious disease outbreaks in Ontario’s Long-Term Care Homes, as outlined in this report; and

3.        Direct that the Chair of the Board of Health write to the COVID-19 Long-Term Care Commission, with a copy to the Premier of Ontario, to share the recommendations and request their consideration in implementing them.

 

CARRIED

 

Dr. Etches and Dominique Bremner, Program Manager of Public Health Inspection, responded to questions from Board Members on the report.  

The Board received one (1) written submission relating to this item from:

·         Mr. tOM Trottier, resident

The discussion on this item lasted approximately 10 minutes. The Board then voted to approve the report recommendations.

 

At approximately 6:25 p.m., before proceeding to the next Agenda item, the Board approved a motion to extend the time of the meeting beyond 7:00 p.m.

Motion 15/2

Moved by Member Banham

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of Health approve that the meeting time be extended past 7:00 p.m. pursuant to Subsection 8(1)(c) of the Procedural By-law.

CARRIED

 

5.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE – LOOKING AHEAD AND BUILDING BACK BETTER

 

ACS2021-OPH-KPQ-0001

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit:

1.       Receive, for information, the lessons learned to date from the COVID-19 pandemic response, as outlined in this report;

2.       Approve Ottawa Public Health’s recommendations for strengthening Ontario’s public health and health care sectors, based on lessons learned from the pandemic response and as described in this report; and

3.       Direct the Chair of the Board of Health to write to the Premier of Ontario to share these recommendations and request they be considered to form part of the Province’s policy and/or regulatory framework going forward. 

 

CARRIED, as amended by Motion 15/3

 

Dr. Etches introduced this item by providing some opening remarks on the report.

Following the Medical Officer of Health’s introductory comments, Member Menard introduced a motion to amend the report to request that the Province:

a.    Require employers in Ontario to provide no less than five paid sick days annually to workers, after three months of employment, through amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 or through a different mechanism; and

b.    Provide necessary funding, fiscal relief, and/or supports to employers so that all workers in Ontario have access to no less than 10 paid sick days annually in the event of a declared infectious disease emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Board then heard from six (6) public delegations and received two (2) written submissions, all in support of paid sick leave:

·         Michelle Arruda, Ottawa Area Director, Unifor

·         Sam Hersh, Horizon Ottawa

·         Everett Latulippe, resident

·         Heather Farrow, resident

·         Laura Sosnow, resident

·         Erin Sirett, resident

·         Naureen Rizvi, Unifor Ontario Regional Director (written submission)

·         Linda Berry, resident (written submission)

Following the public delegations, Board members posed questions on the report and on Motion 15/3. The Board then proceeded to vote on the Motion and on the report, as amended. The discussion on this item lasted approximately one (1) hour.

 

Motion 15/3

Moved by Member Menard

WHEREAS, as its meeting of February 8, 2021, the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit is considering two reports from Ottawa’s Medical Officer of Health on the subject of lessons learned to date from the COVID-19 pandemic titled “Lessons Learned Working with Long-Term Care Homes During the COVID-19 Pandemic” and “COVID-19 Pandemic Response – Looking Ahead and Building Back Better”; and

WHEREAS both reports underline the importance of staying home when sick in order to prevent the transmission of infectious illnesses like COVID-19, particularly as pertains to workers’ ability to stay home when sick without fear of lost wages; and

WHEREAS the report titled COVID-19 Pandemic Response – Looking Ahead and Building Back Better” makes both health and economic arguments in support of paid sick leave for Ontario’s workforce, noting that:

·         “The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined that a healthy population and a healthy economy go hand in hand and that differences in earning power and job security directly impact individual, family and community health”;

·         “Some of Ottawa’s essential workers are precariously employed, limiting their ability to stay home when ill”; and

·         “Employees attending work while sick can have a ripple effect at the workplace, including transmitting infectious diseases, increasing their risk of injury and decreasing productivity, which can ultimately lead to increased costs to employers”; and

WHEREAS, in addition to the economic benefits of paid sick leave to ensure workers stay home when sick to prevent the transmission of infectious illness, a COVID-19 outbreak in a workplace can also result in reputational harm and stigma; and

WHEREAS on January 15, 2021, Ontario’s Big City Mayors put out a news release stating that “too many workers across Ontario are having to choose between going to work sick or losing income” and urging the provincial and federal governments “to implement a broader sick day program now that provides greater benefits and can be accessed by employees as quickly as possible”; and

WHEREAS, although the federal government has introduced a form of sick leave benefit, it has proven to be insufficient given that:

·         It is limited in terms of the maximum weekly amount payable to workers;

·         It is based on full weeks of missed work rather than days of missed work, leaving workers ineligible if they miss less than a full week; and

·         It requires workers to apply for the benefit, resulting in a wait for payment and a risk of their application being denied; and

WHEREAS workers should be able to miss work when they are sick, regardless of the percentage of days missed in a particular week, without needing their illness to be confined to two weeks within a calendar year, and without seeing a reduction in their income for time missed due to illness; and

WHEREAS, with the exception of a relatively small number of federally regulated industries, the majority of workplaces are provincially regulated, making it foremost the jurisdiction of provinces to ensure seamless access to paid sick leave for workers; and

WHEREAS during a press briefing on January 12, 2021, both the University of Toronto’s Dr. Adalsteinn Brown and Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health, indicated that a pandemic response that relies solely on restricting individual movements — and provides no increased social supports — will not work; and

WHEREAS during that same briefing, Dr. Yaffe also noted that for some, the lack of paid sick days is a barrier to reducing transmission of the novel coronavirus; and

WHEREAS during a January 11, 2021 press conference, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, also talked about the importance of paid sick leave provisions to protect the health of individual workers, workplaces, and the broader community”; and

WHEREAS, at its meeting of January 18, 2021, Toronto’s Board of Health approved recommendations calling on the Government of Ontario to:

a.  require employers in Ontario to provide no less than five paid sick days annually to workers, after three months of employment, through amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 or through a different mechanism; and

b.  provide necessary funding, fiscal relief, and/or supports to employers so that all workers in Ontario have access to no less than 10 paid sick days annually in the event of a declared infectious disease emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS despite these and other calls from public health experts and officials, the Government of Ontario has yet to announce measures that include paid sick days; and

WHEREAS the reports from Ottawa’s Medical Officer of Health clearly outline the need for paid sick leave, which should be reflected in the Ottawa Board of Health’s recommendations to the province;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Ottawa Board of Health join the Toronto Board of Health in requesting that the province:

c.    Require employers in Ontario to provide no less than five paid sick days annually to workers, after three months of employment, through amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 or through a different mechanism; and

d.    Provide necessary funding, fiscal relief, and/or supports to employers so that all workers in Ontario have access to no less than 10 paid sick days annually in the event of a declared infectious disease emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Chair of the Board of Health include these specific recommendations in his letter to the Premier of Ontario further to recommendation 3 of the report titled “COVID-19 Pandemic Response – Looking Ahead and Building Back Better”.

 

CARRIED on a division of 10 YEAS and 1 NAY, as follows:

YEAS (10):    Members E. Banham, J. Cloutier, G. Gower, T. Kavanagh, L. Leikin, S. Pinel, P. Tilley, Vice-Chair T. DeGiovanni and Chair K. Egli

NAY (1):         Member E. El-Chantiry

 

6.

OTTAWA PUBLIC HEALTH’S STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 2019-2022 – 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW

 

ACS2021-OPH-KPQ-0002

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this report for information.

 

RECEIVED

 

ADDITIONAL ITEM

7.

OTTAWA PUBLIC HEALTH SUBMISSION TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO ON 2021 BUDGET CONSULTATIONS

 

ACS2021-OPH-PCS-0001

 

That the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit approve the Medical Officer of Health’s submission to the Government of Ontario in response to the 2021 budget consultations, as outlined in Document 1.

 

CARRIED

 

MOTION TO ADOPT REPORTS

Motion 15/4

Moved by Member Banham

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the report titled Confirmation of the Chair and Vice-Chair, the Chair of the Board of Health Verbal Report, the Medical Officer of Health Verbal Report, and the reports titled: Lessons Learned Working with Long-Term Care Homes (LTCHs) During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Covid-19 Pandemic Response – Looking Ahead and Building Back Better, Ottawa Public Health’s Strategic Plan for 2019-2022 – 2020 Year in Review, and Ottawa Public Health Submission to the Government of Ontario on 2021 Budget Consultations, be received and adopted.

CARRIED

 

MOTIONS REQUIRING SUSPENSION OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE

There were no motions requiring suspension of the rules.

 

NOTICES OF MOTION (FOR CONSIDERATION AT SUBSEQUENT MEETING)

There were no Notices of Motion (for consideration at a subsequent meeting).

 

CONFIRMATION BY-LAW

Motion 15/5

Moved by Member Banham

BE IT RESOLVED THAT Confirmation By-law no. 2021-1, a by-law of the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit to confirm the proceedings of the Ottawa Board of Health at its meeting of February 8, 2021, be read and passed.

CARRIED

 

INQUIRIES

None

 

ADJOURNMENT

The Board adjourned the meeting at 7:28 p.m.

 

NEXT MEETING

Regular Meeting

Monday, April 19, 2021 - 5:00 PM

_____________________________                    _____________________________

BOARD SECRETARY                                           BOARD CHAIR


Board of Health Meeting
Chair Keith Egli – Verbal report
February 8, 2021

Good evening, bonsoir, Kwey,

Welcome everyone to the Board of Health’s first regular meeting of 2021.

I’d like to begin my Verbal Report tonight with a bit of good news.

Earlier today, the Government of Ontario announced a plan to gradually lift some of the current restrictions and to return to a regionally-applied colour-coded system – Green, Yellow, Orange, Red and Gray – with different levels of restriction in each colour classification and indicators and thresholds for regions to move from one level to the next. For Ottawa, this means that some of the current restrictions would be lifted as of February 16th. I know Dr. Etches will have more to say about that as part of her Verbal Report in terms of where Ottawa currently sits within the colour-coded system but I wanted to share this news with you and to say that this is a welcome development and we thank the Provincial government for moving back to a regional approach.

It was just over a year ago, on January 27, 2020, Ottawa Public Health initiated its Incident Management System in order to effectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and two days later, on January 29th, Dr. Etches provided her first update to City Council on the situation relating to the novel coronavirus. Since then, the work for OPH has been non-stop and the impacts on our community have been far-reaching.

Mental Health Initiatives

As is noted in the COVID-19 Pandemic Response lessons learned report that’s on tonight’s agenda, throughout the pandemic, people’s coping strategies have been challenged in significant ways. As a result, OPH has been working hard with its partners to increase resources and raise awareness in order to better support our community’s mental health. Many of those initiatives are listed in the report that’s on tonight’s agenda so I won’t repeat them now. Rather, I’d like to highlight a few more recent initiatives:

On January 19, 2021, OPH coordinated and presented the Mental Health Expert Tips live session on YouTube. Dr Raj Bhatla, Psychiatrist-in-Chief at the Royal, shared tips and strategies to promote mental health and wellness during challenging times, and Linda Cove, a Public Health Nurse with OPH’s mental health team shared community mental health resources available for residents.

Board Members received an email about that on January 18th so some of you may have watched the event live but if you were not able to do so, the video is available on OPH’s YouTube channel. I encourage everyone to check it out and feel free to share the video on your own social media and with your networks.

Ottawa Public Health is working with The Kids Come First Health Team, CHEO and Ottawa Child and Youth Initiative to organize and present a live event called Youth Mental Health and Addictions Virtual Town Hall.

Taking place on February 11, 2021 at 7pm, this event will give parents and youth the opportunity to question various experts in the area of youth mental health & addictions, including questions on where to get help.

The event will also launch a new mental health resource, a “Know What to Do Guide” to help youth, parents and caregivers start the conversation about mental health, know what to look for and learn about positive coping strategies, including supports and services.

Panelists for the Town Hall include representatives from OPH, CHEO, Parents Lifeline of Eastern Ontario (PLEO), YouthNet, Rideauwood Addictions and Family Services, Centre Le Cap and Valoris.

Lastly, OPH has again partnered with the Kids Come First Health Team, the Ottawa Child and Youth Initiativeand CHEO’s YouthNet to launch the second edition of the Your Minute Video Campaign. The campaign will work with and engage youth ages 14 to 18 across Ottawa and our region to share messages of hope and resiliency with their peers through a 1-minute video.

The purpose of the campaign is to provide youth with a platform by which they can:

·         Inspire others and normalize experiences of the pandemic by sharing stories and coping strategies, while fostering hope and resilience; 

·         Increase their knowledge on issues related to substance use and mental health; and

·         Engage youth to adapt and disseminate mental health and substance use prevention messaging to their peers.

The campaign will be launched at the beginning of March, and we are excited to see the talents, creativity and resilience of Ottawa’s youth on display!

February is Heart Health Month

Members may be aware that February is Heart Health Month and again, I’m reminded of the COVID-19 Pandemic Response lessons learned report that’s on tonight’s agenda and the fact that, due to the pandemic response, OPH’s work on Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention has been greatly reduced, as have preventive screening and monitoring of chronic diseases. We also know that behaviours that contribute to the development of chronic diseases, such as insufficient sleep, physical inactivity and alcohol use, have worsened.

In light of that and given that this is Heart Health Month, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of eating a healthy and balanced diet, getting enough sleep and exercising regularly. In addition to being good for your heart, these measures can also boost your mental health and resilience during these challenging times. Also important – pay attention to how you feel when shoveling snow – stay warm, take breaks if you need to, and seek medical care if you feel unwell.

Congratulations to Tammy DeGiovanni

Lastly, some of you may have already heard but I wanted to share the good news and take the opportunity to congratulate our Vice-Chair, Tammy DeGiovanni, on her recent promotion as CHEO’s Chief Nurse and Senior Clinical Vice President.

When Tammy attended her first Board of Health meeting in February 2019, I introduced her as the Director of Ambulatory Care and Chief Nurse Information Officer at CHEO, noting her master’s degree in health administration and lifelong volunteerism and in announcing her promotion to the position of Chief Nurse and Senior Clinical Vice President, Alex Munter, CHEO’s CEO, noted that Tammy started working at CHEO as a surgical ward nurse in 1995 and that she had earned respect across CHEO and Ottawa in numerous leadership roles. I could not agree more.

Congratulations Tammy! CHEO is lucky to have you, as are we.

That concludes my verbal update. I’d be happy to take any questions.


Board of Health Meeting
Dr. Vera Etches – Verbal report
February 8, 2021

Good evening, Kwey, Aingai, Taanishi, Bonsoir,

I would  like to begin by honouring the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people, on whose unceded traditional territory the City of Ottawa is located and on which we are virtually gathered this evening, and by recognizing that this land has been a gathering place for many peoples for a long time.

I would also like to recommend recognition of and participation in Black History Month activities to continue to build understanding of anti-Black racism and its impact on the health of Ottawa’s population. This year’s theme for Black History Month is “The Future is Now.”   I encourage everyone to learn about City activities and activities across Ottawa celebrating the accomplishments of Black Canadians both past and present. 

In tonight’s Verbal Report, I will provide updates on COVID-19 vaccination, on COVID-19 testing of school communities and on OPH’s financial situation.

COVID-19 Vaccination

Starting with the ongoing rollout of COVID-19 vaccines -

Members will recall that on December 14th the Government of Ontario delivered the first shipment of Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to the Ottawa Hospital. However, the planning for the local vaccine rollout has been going on for some time and our teams have been preparing for the logistics, distribution, communication and outreach required for the successful implementation of Ottawa’s COVID-19 vaccine program. Our team has worked in lockstep with the City’s Emergency Operations Centre, our Provincial partners and local hospitals with our common goal that the vaccine is distributed as efficiently as possible.

As you know, long-term care and retirement home residents and their caregivers and families have been separated due to COVID-19 precautions. It was particularly heartwarming to see that with provincial support, Ottawa Public Health became the first public health unit in Ontario to transport Pfizer outside of the hospital clinic and into the Perley-Rideau Veterans Care centre – the first long-term care home to vaccinate residents in our city. We have relied on two models to vaccinate residents. Facility-lead vaccinations, where the facility has administered the vaccine to its residents and staff and mobile immunizations teams where Ottawa Public Health nurses, paramedics and local partners went into the homes to administer the vaccine. We have also leveraged the expertise of CHEO pharmacists to prepare and handle the delicate vaccines. This has allowed us to administer 9,082 doses across long-term care homes, retirement homes and congregate care settings in our city and, as indicated in a memo distributed this past Friday, as of February 5th, all of Ottawa’s 28 long-term care homes have received second round offerings of the Pfizer vaccine. Comme indiqué dans une note de service distribuée vendredi dernier, depuis le 5 février, l'ensemble des 28 foyers de soins de longue durée d'Ottawa ont reçu la deuxième offre du vaccin Pfizer.

The COVID-19 vaccination plan is not just about the administration of vaccines. The success that our team saw at the Perley-Rideau and other long-term care homes in our City started much earlier than January 8th. Since December our team has hosted weekly calls with all long-term care operators across the city to ensure they had the latest information and that they would be ready to receive the vaccine as soon as it became available to them. Our communications team has created educational material, a vaccine website and myth vs fact videos that have demystified the vaccine and raised awareness about its importance.

This type of collaboration is what is needed to vaccinate the residents of Ottawa as quickly and efficiently as possible.

On Friday February 5th Ottawa received 4,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine. This is being used to vaccinate residents in retirement homes in the city. We must move as quickly as possible and our team continues to branch out to more partners in the community to ensure we increase our capacity and redundancies. Moving forward, we will have community physicians and the Queensway Carleton Hospital join Ottawa Public Health nurses and paramedics as mobile immunizations teams. Allant de l’avant, des médecins locaux et l'hôpital Queensway Carleton se joindront aux infirmières de Santé publique Ottawa et aux ambulanciers  pour former des équipes mobiles de vaccination.

The multi-agency response is running nonstop and inspired by the smiles we continue to see from people being protected by the COVID-19 vaccines, like the one we saw from Arnold Roberts, a resident of the Perley-Rideau hospital and the first person administered the vaccine in Ottawa via a mobile immunization team.

People continue to ask when their time will come and how will they know. Ottawa Public Health and the City of Ottawa will continue to provide more clarity on the sequencing of vaccines and the access points that will become available to Phase 1 populations as vaccine supply increases. The OPH website remains a credible source of information about all aspects of the pandemic response.

COVID-19 Testing in Schools

With respect to COVID-19 testing of school communities, over the past two weekends and in collaboration with CHEO, OPH has hosted COVID-19 rapid testing clinics at local schools (Jan 30 & 31 and Feb 6 & 7).

On the weekends of January 30 & 31 and February 6th and 7th, mobile testing clinics were set up at a host school and invitations were sent out to all students, staff, and families in the surrounding region - approximately 10 schools were invited per weekend. Les fins de semaine du 30 et 31 janvier et du 6 et 7 février, des cliniques mobiles de dépistage ont été mises en place dans une école d'accueil et des invitations ont été envoyées à tous les élèves, au personnel et aux familles de la région environnante - environ 10 écoles ont été invitées chaque fin de semaine.

Through these clinics, asymptomatic individuals were offered rapid antigen testing using the PanBio test and any individuals who received positive results on the rapid test were called back to return the same day for a confirmatory laboratory-based test, whereas individuals who were experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or who had recent high-risk exposures to COVID-19 were tested with both the rapid test and the laboratory-based PCR test at the same time. Neighbourhoods offered testing were selected using a data-driven approach, to address higher rates of COVID-19 in particular areas of the city. OPH and CHEO plan to offer similar testing in the upcoming weekends in various neighbourhoods around Ottawa.

The purpose of these rapid testing clinics is to further reduce the introduction of COVID-19 into schools and to learn more about COVID-19 transmission risk related to schools. By identifying asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic individuals before they go to school, we are aiming to reduce the number of individuals who are exposed to COVID-19. The contact tracing that follows a positive test enables steps to reduce further spread. In addition, testing results provide us with information on the extent of COVID-19 transmission in the community to monitor trends and inform public health measures. The school-based testing is intended to reduce barriers to testing by providing convenient testing in a central school location. Le dépistage en milieu scolaire vise à réduire les obstacles au dépistage en offrant un test commode dans un lieu central à proximité de l'école.

In addition to CHEO staff administering tests, the sites are staffed by OPH Public Health Nurses and community developers who provide language/cultural assistance and access to wrap-around supports to help individuals and families facing barriers to testing or isolation as it relates to food security, housing security, income support and other assistance.

OPH Financial Situation

With respect to OPH’s current financial situation, I am pleased to confirm that the Ministry of Health has advanced $12M of funding for COVID-19 related expenses based on OPH’s year-end projection, submitted at the end of Q2. Additional expenses were incurred in the latter part of 2020 due to the surge in cases, the reinstatement of some essential core services, the migration to the provincial case and contact management reporting system and other factors, including initial vaccine campaign related expenses. 

OPH will be submitting an additional request to cover the extraordinary expenses as part of the 4th Quarter Standards Activity Report, which is due to the ministry by mid-February. That submission is still being finalized. It is anticipated that Provincial funding will fully offset the above noted costs therefore balancing the budget. 

As noted in our Budget Submission report added to tonight’s meeting agenda, our expectation is that the Province will commit to continuing to fund all COVID-19 related expenses, including vaccination-related costs, through 2021 and our recommendation is that they will sustain the 45 additional school health nurses as part of our base budget going forward.

Next steps re: lockdown

Our understanding is that following the provincial lockdown Ottawa would return to Orange status and related restrictions in the provincial framework, based on the COVID-19 indicators over the last week. This means that there will be additional opportunities to come into close contact with others as people go about accessing more services. A cautious approach and routine use of the protective behaviours of masks…..etc is required.

Ottawans were able to keep COVID-19 levels manageable in the orange level in the fall and yet we know there could be more rigor required if more transmissible variants of concern take root. At this point, we are thankful for the wastewater monitoring being done by researchers at the University of Ottawa, CHEO Research Institute working with the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre (ROPEC) which collects and treats wastewater from 91.6% of Ottawa’s population and we will have the results from all positive test results being screened for the variant to keep an eye on this risk. To date, 6 UK variants and 1 South African variant have been detected with all people involved following isolation protocols.

Lessons Learned from Long-Term Care

Lastly, this morning OPH published a Special Focus report on Outbreaks of COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Homes. It’s referenced as an endnote in the report listed on tonight’s agenda with respect to Lessons Learned from Working with Long-Term Care Homes during the pandemic as it provided insights when comparing wave 1 outbreaks versus those in wave 2. Based on OPH data, outbreaks in long-term care homes evolved throughout the pandemic, and were very different in the Spring vs Fall of 2020.

When considering outbreak data in long-term care homes, OPH would like to recognize that behind each number is a person who was infected and many family members who are now grieving the loss of loved ones. OPH does use analysis of the numbers to evaluate the impact of interventions. In addition to the numbers of outbreaks, other indicators, such as severity and spread and the duration of each outbreak are examined. Based on the report’s analysis, outbreaks’ morbidity and mortality were reduced significantly. We continue to learn from our experience and are continuing to seek input from partners and others involved in LTCHs.

It’s also important to note that lower COVID-19 rates in the community directly translates into lower COVID-19 risk, transmission and outbreaks in LTCHs, which demonstrates the importance of everyone doing their part in the community to keep virus transmission as low as possible. We all have a role to play.

That concludes my verbal report. I would be happy to take any questions.

Cela conclut mon rapport verbal. Il me fera plaisir de répondre à vos questions.