Ottawa Public Health implores residents to wear masks indoors

Local News: Due to the possibility of a COVID-19 resurgence, Ottawa Public Health is encouraging residents to wear masks indoors and is launching a third dose campaign. “I am always reviewing the situation and thinking about what could be done locally, including taking a look at whether this is a time where it would make sense to use a Section 22 order,” said Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health. Section 22 of the provincial Health Protection and Promotion Act gives medical officers of health the power to create rules, such as mandating masks. “The pandemic is not over and we are currently experiencing another resurgence,” said Etches. As of now, there are no plans to reintroduce mask mandates.

National News: A union in Toronto says that workers from a Metro and Food Basics distribution warehouse could be going on strike this Friday. According to Unifor, 99 per cent of workers voted to go on strike if a collective agreement can not be reached by April 1. “Metro has profited tremendously during the pandemic but it is the shareholders who have benefited, not the front line workers,” Unifor Ontario Regional Director Naureen Rizvi said in a statement.

International News: Actor Bruce Willis has announced his retirement from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that causes loss of the ability to understand or express speech. The caption of an Instagram post of Willis’ eldest daughter, Rumer, reads “As a result of this and with much consideration, Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.” The statement is also signed by Willis’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, his ex-wife Demi Moore, and his five children, Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel and Evelyn.