COVID-19 Ottawa:

Ottawa’s Top Doctor says the city has entered the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Vera Etches made the comment after meeting with Mayor Jim Watson and Premier Doug Ford Friday morning.

Hours after her comments, Ottawa Public Health reported 63 new, confirmed COVID-19 cases. 3,549 cases have been recorded in the Capital throughout the pandemic, with 458 active cases, and 79 per cent of cases resolved. No new deaths related to the virus were reported. That total remains at 273.

COVID-19 Ontario:

There are 401 new cases across Ontario, the biggest single day increase since early June.

The total number of cases in Ontario now stands at 46,077, which includes 2,825 deaths and 40,600 cases classified as resolved. Nearly 70 per cent of the new cases are in people under the age of 40.

Ford Visits Ottawa:

Premier Doug Ford says stricter limits on social gatherings now in effect in Ottawa, as well as Toronto and Peel Region, will also be imposed on other regions.

These areas remain the virus hotspots but Ford says other mayors and health officials want new limits in their regions. He also says he hopes to expand testing to Ontario pharmacies by late next week.

Meanwhile,

Ford and the premiers of Quebec, Alberta and Manitoba are calling on the federal government to boost transfers to cover 35 per cent of provincial-territorial health costs. He says the increase from the current 22 per cent would amount to about $70-billion.

Orleans Shooting:

Ottawa Police are searching for answers following a brazen, daytime shooting in Orleans.

Officers were called to a stretch of Sunview Drive just before 11:00 am Friday. No victims or suspects have been identified.

Arrests Made Over Nova Scotia Lobster Dispute:

RCMP say two people were arrested Friday and accused of assault at a wharf in western Nova Scotia.

The arrests followed reports of confrontations over a First Nation’s commercial lobster fishing operation. Some non-Indigenous fishermen have claimed it is illegal, as it is operating outside the fishing season. The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs has cited a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision. It affirms the constitutional right of First Nations to earn a moderate livelihood from fishing.