OTTAWA -- Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo said a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases among young people coincides with increasing reports of people contracting the virus at parties, nightclubs and bars.
Njoo advised everyone, especially young adults, to find "creative ways" to be social amid the pandemic — and he warned those planning to patronize indoor bars to be aware of the risks.
"Singing, mingling and dancing in close contact with others, in close spaces and crowded places is not the way to party this summer," he said.
"These are ideal conditions for the spread of COVID-19."
His comments come amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases this week. Njoo said that while Canada averaged a daily COVID-19 case count of 300 in early July, that rose to an average of 350 per day over the last week — and yesterday, there were 430 cases reported.
"This coincides with increasing reports of individuals contracting COVID-19 at parties, nightclubs and bars, as well as increasing rates of transmission among young Canadians in some jurisdictions across the country," Njoo said.
He noted that these recent trends indicate "some cause for concern."
There have been multiple COVID-19 cases tied to Montreal bars in recent days. On July 13, Montreal public health authorities confirmed that at least 13 Montrealers tested positive for the virus after visiting bars on the island. Those individuals had visited at least nine bars.
Another five people tested positive for the virus after visiting a bar on the South Shore on Montreal, which they did after attending private parties over the weekend where at least one attendee had already tested positive before attending the party. As of July 6, 20 partygoers had tested positive for COVID-19.
The Quebec provincial government green-lit the reopening of bars and casinos on June 25. However, health officials have since sent out a warning urging any Montrealers who have been in a bar since July 1 to get tested. As of Saturday, the City of Montreal is also making masks mandatory indoors.
A large chunk of Ontario also begun allowing patrons to be indoors in bars as of Friday — with some restrictions, including capacity limitations.
Njoo cautioned Canadians to consider their responsibility to protect not only their own health, but the health of others as they move forward with these looser physical distancing rules.
"I think with anything, there’s always, I think, a bit of a fatigue factor, and certainly I think that's coming into play a bit now, especially with the warmer weather and people getting out," Njoo said.
"With the young people, even if they may have a mild illness or even be asymptomatic, they of course are part of our society. And they obviously go to the workplace. Maybe they work in a fast food restaurant. They obviously have parents and grandparents so the possibilities of them transmitting or being in contact with others is what I think is a major issue."
He added that it's "concerning" that a greater proportion of COVID-19 cases are now among young adults under the age of 40. Njoo said that when he was young, he felt he was "invincible" — but that isn't necessarily the case when it comes to COVID-19 cases occurring among young people.
"It is true that overall, young people tend to not have, at the same rate, serious health consequences compared to older people and those with underlying medical conditions," he said.
"Having said that, I think we have seen some anecdotes of young people having severe outcomes. So you can't consider that everyone is immune from having serious consequences."
NJOO DOESN'T PLAN TO GO TO BARS
As for whether he'd go to a bar, Njoo said he won’t be doing that anytime soon — though he noted he "can't speak for anybody else in terms of what my own personal risk tolerance level."
"If they take all the right precautions, wear a face mask, hand sanitizer, etc, they may feel comfortable going into a bar. That's their choice, and they need to understand what the risks might be as we give them the scientific evidence about ventilation," he said.
Njoo provided the analogy of cigarette smoke, noting that clouds of smoke linger for much longer in indoor spaces than they do outdoors.
"That might be the same way you might think about your potential exposure to small or aerosolized droplets of COVID-19…if you work in close proximity or contact with a smoker, that cloud of smoke certainly lingers for a longer period of time and your potential exposure is increased," he said.
While Njoo said he would have a "higher comfort level" with an outdoor patio compared to an indoor bar, provided all proper health precautions are followed, he plans to stick to watching NHL games from the comfort of his own home for the foreseeable future.
"I would still say that, for the time being, and certainly what I've done, my outdoor activities in terms of eating have been restricted to I think family barbecues with physical distancing in my backyard with my tight social bubble," Njoo said.
Regardless of whether Canadians plan to visit bars or not, he encouraged people to continue following health precautions — wearing masks, distancing and using hand sanitizer.
"I think it's just something that we need to keep, unfortunately, hammering home. Because until we actually get an effective vaccine or treatment, these are the only things we have at our disposal in terms of slowing down or at least limiting the transmission of COVID-19," Njoo said.
