Mandatory Masks:
Ottawa city council will discuss making masks mandatory in all indoor public spaces in the city.
Mayor Jim Watson tweeted Friday that he will table a motion at the council meeting on July 15 that, if passed, would make it mandatory for everyone to wear a cloth mask when entering such a space.
Watson suggests the motion is partly in response to a recommendation from Ottawa’s Top Doctor Vera Etches, who has been recommending for weeks now that you wear a mask while in a public space where you can’t maintain physical distancing.
Meanwhile, Mayor Watson also announced on Twitter that Somerset will be closed to vehicles between Bank and O’Connor on weekends, starting tonight.
He says the move will allow restaurants on this stretch to expand patios to ensure physical distancing.
COVID-19 Ottawa:
There are three more confirmed COVID-19 cases in the capital Friday.
That sends the city’s total to 2104 since the pandemic began, with 85 per cent of patients recovered. 263 people have died from COVID-19-related illness in the city, with no new deaths reported for more than a week now.
COVID-19 Ontario:
Ontario has 165 new cases, and two new deaths related to the virus Friday.
The total number of cases now stands at 35,535, which includes 30,909 cases marked as resolved and 2,682 deaths.
City To Offer More In-Person Services:
The City of Ottawa has announced that it will resume some in-person services at City Hall and Ben Franklin Place, and re-open its childcare centres, starting Monday (July 6).
Staff ensure that precautions will be taken, including lowered capacity to maintain physical distancing. You will need to make an appointment to collect things like marriage licenses and building permits from these locations.
Military Member Charged After Breach at Rideau Hall:
The RCMP says the Canadian forces member who crashed a truck through the gates at Rideau Hall had several weapons on him, and is now facing 22 charges, mostly for weapons offences.
Responding officers and Corey Hurren, 42, talked for an hour and 42 minutes before Hurren was taken into custody just before 8:30 am Friday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor-General Julie Payette were not home at the time.
Police Seek Crash Witnesses:
Police want to hear from anyone who witnessed a collision between a cyclist and a yellow and grey dump truck.
The collision at Wellington and Lyon sent the cyclist, a man in his 30’s, to the hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries over the noon hour Thursday.
Anyone with more information is asked to call Police at 613-236-1222, ext. 2490 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Washington NFL Team Considering Name Change:
The NFL’s Washington team is undergoing what it calls a thorough review of its nickname.
The team says it has been talking to the NFL for weeks about the subject. In a statement, the team said recent events around the U.S. and feedback from the community prompted the formal review. The statement comes a day after the team’s Stadium Sponsor FedEx encouraged the team to make the change, and Nike seemingly removed all of the team’s memorabilia from its online store.