COVID-19: Provincial & Federal Briefings - Feb. 7, 2022
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Summary of developments for Monday, February 7, 2022 follows:
City of Ottawa Declares State of Emergency
On Sunday afternoon, Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency in the City of Ottawa as ongoing protests continued to paralyze the city’s downtown core. The Mayor said in his statement that the declaration affords more flexibility for municipal authorities to maintain business continuity and procure necessary resources to address the demonstrations.
As of Monday morning, police have cleared some areas of the city that were densely occupied by protesters. Demonstrations continue in other areas of the city, including in front of Parliament Hill.?The Ottawa Police Service said in a news release that officers arrested 7 individuals and issued over 100 tickets on Sunday, focusing enforcement efforts on offences related to mischief, theft, hate crimes and property damage.
In a press conference today, Ottawa Chief of Police Peter Sloly said that there have been 20 arrests since Friday, with 500 tickets issued and trucks being towed. Chief Sloly said that the Ottawa Police Service is stretched to its limit and more resources are required. Chief Sloly said he will likely send Mayor Watson’s letter, seeking more resources to deal with the anti-vaccine mandate protestors, to provincial and federal authorities.
Meanwhile, Ontario Superior Court Justice Hugh McLean has granted a 10-day injunction to silence noise from truckers parked on city streets in downtown Ottawa. Justice McLean said the injunction is temporary because he needs to hear more evidence.
Paul Champ, the lawyer representing central Ottawa residents in a proposed multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit, had argued the loud and prolonged honking is causing irreparable harm.
Federal Government Update
Earlier today, in a briefing to discuss the ongoing protests in Ottawa, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said that the protest has crossed the line of acceptable conduct. He also added that an “angry crowd” should not be allowed to dictate policies to fight COVID-19.
Minister Mendicino commended the Ottawa Police Service for stepping up enforcement efforts in the past 24-hours. He expressed concern about protests elsewhere in the country, including at the Coutts border crossing in Alberta. He also said that the events in Ottawa cannot set a precedent that allows protesters to force reckless changes in public policy by blockading the capital. Minister Mendicino confirmed that more RCMP resources have been made available following requests for assistance over the weekend.?
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair, who also took part in the briefing, said it is not the role of any government to direct law-enforcement operations. It is the responsibility of the Ottawa Police Service to maintain public order and the rule of law as the police of jurisdiction. Minister Blair did announce, however, that a trilateral table of federal, provincial and municipal partners would help oversee the response.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called today for an emergency debate tonight in the House of Commons. In a letter to House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota, Singh wrote “The situation has reached a crisis point. And in times of crisis, it is important for federal leaders to show leadership, to urge de-escalation and to work together to find solutions”.
COVID-19 Data Trends:?
In the past twenty-four hours, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) reported 6,845 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 85 deaths in Canada, bringing the cumulative total of cases to 3,125,028 and a total of 34,721 deaths. There are currently 178,098 active COVID-19 cases in Canada.
Ontario
Today, the province announced that the GO-VAXX mobile COVID-19 vaccine clinics will be accepting walk-in appointments in addition to pre-booked appointments. Currently, there are six GO-VAXX buses on the road, with another two set to join the fleet by the end of February. GO-VAXX mobile clinics are providing Pfizer vaccines for first, second, third, and booster doses, in addition to the paediatric Pfizer vaccine for children aged five to 11. A full list of locations and further details can be found on the government website.
The province reported 2,088 new cases today. There are 2,155 Ontarians being treated for COVID-19 in general hospital wards, with 486 individuals in the ICU, of which 283 patients are on a ventilator.
To date, 31,025,150 doses have been administered in Ontario. Currently, 92.1% of Ontarians aged 12 or older has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 89.5% have received both doses. In terms of Ontarians aged 5 or older, 89.2% have received one dose and 84.4% have received both doses. The province reported that 55% of Ontarians have received a booster dose.
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Quebec
All the truckers left Québec City yesterday. The mayor and police are obviously happy about the work they did regarding coordination and communication with the protesters before and during the protest. The news was reported in Le Soleil and a Twitter feed from the Quebec City police service.
Santé Québec reported 2,240 new cases with 20 virus-related deaths in the last 24 hours. There was a net daily increase of 14 hospitalizations, bringing the total number of people being treated in hospital with the virus to 2,425. There was also a net increase of one patient in intensive care in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 178.
More than 18.2 million vaccine doses have been administered to Quebecers residing in and outside the province. The Santé Québec COVID-19 dashboard shows that 91% of the total eligible people aged 5 years and older have received their first vaccine dose and 85% their second dose while 47% of the total eligible people have received their third vaccine dose.
Alberta
Alberta Health Services is reporting 32,711 active COVID-19 cases. The provincial positivity rate is 35.98% Currently, 1584 individuals are being treated for COVID-19 in hospital, 118 of whom are in intensive care. To date, 8,345,443 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province. This means that 89.9% of eligible people 12 years and older have now received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 86.2% have received their second dose, and 33.6% have received their third dose.
British Columbia
According to the Vancouver Sun, Vancouver’s health-care workers who stood in protest Saturday against a convoy of big rigs, pick up trucks and vehicles opposing COVID-19 mandates were told by the protestors “‘we’ll be here every week until things are back to normal,”?according to Jen, a nurse who was protesting in favour of vaccination and who refused to give her last name for fear of retaliation.
British Columbia’s Health Services is reporting 1,799 new cases and 1 new COVID-19 related death in the past 24 hours. There are 946 individuals in hospital and 139 individuals in intensive care. There are 25,479 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
To date, a cumulative 10,872,777 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province, 4,199,246 of which are second doses. 92.8% of eligible people 12 years and older have now received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 90.2% have received their second dose, and 48.1% have received their third dose.
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