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“We hope that all of the measures people are taking right now will drop that number.”

Photo by Errol McGihon / Postmedia

Etches also backtracked from a statement she made on Monday suggesting that mining aggregated data, potentially from electronic sources such as cellphones, could offer more information about where people are gathering and increasing the risk of infection.

“We don’t have a plan to introduce such a thing,” she said. “If we do it, we want to do it in such as way that is open and protects privacy.”

Right now, most tips about people who are ignoring distancing guidelines are coming through complaints to police. And while Etches has received a few messages on her personal email, she prefers that people with concerns use Ottawa Public Health’s general email. (Ottawa Public Health says emailing personal and confidential health related information is not recommended. The website is not licensed or able to comment on specific personal health problems.)

Ottawa has only one open assessment centre and Etches acknowledged that the testing is limited to those who have travelled and health-care workers. This will not capture all cases in the community — for example, those who have been infected by someone who has travelled.

This is where an enhanced self-assessment tool introduced by Ontario’s health ministry on Tuesday may help. The tool may also help provide valuable data about the distribution and nature of COVID-19 symptoms, said Etches.