Health officials urged to give stricter orders

Amid a warning from Premier Doug Ford that there is little separating what Ontario faces from the devastation in Italy and Spain, the province wants public health officials to get more aggressive in ordering people with COVID -19 to stay home.

In a memo released Wednesday, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams told public health officials they need to do more to limit community spread, given the “ongoing and increasing incidence of community transmission across the province.”

He wants medical officers of health, including Ottawa’s Dr. Vera Etches, to enforce Section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, which gives them the power to issue orders forcing people to remain isolated, for example, or to receive a medical exam to decrease the risk to public health.

So far, medical officers of health have trusted people to remain in their homes for 14 days or until they receive a medical all-clear.

Williams said Wednesday that stronger action is need to avoid a steep increase in cases.

“Given the increasing number of cases, all public health units should implement more aggressive contact tracing and management as we work collectively to flatten the curve,” he said in a memo released by the Ministry of Health.

The recommendation comes as Ottawa bylaw officers are dealing with numerous cases of groups gathering in defiance of provincial laws aimed at slowing spread of COVID-19. On Tuesday alone, the city fielded more 139 calls and found groups that included more than 200 people at Britannia Beach, groups playing in parks and one backyard birthday party of more than a dozen people, said Mayor Jim Watson at the city’s daily COVID -19 news conference.

“It’s unfortunate, but we just can’t have these kinds of gatherings,” he said.

Meanwhile, Etches said the city is looking for clarity about the recommendation from the chief medical officer of health to understand what it means for enforcement.

Currently, she said, Ottawa Public Health contacts every positive case multiple times to make sure they know they, as well as their close contacts, have to self-isolate. epayne@postmedia.com