Two human cases of West Nile Virus have been detected in Ottawa. The city’s public health unit said on Wednesday that these were the first two cases in Ottawa for 2026, and it urged residents to continue to exercise preventative measures against mosquito bites, especially for those who could be most at risk. This comes after local observations of an extended presence of mosquitoes into September due to the elevated wet weather that came down on Ottawa this past summer. To date, the province has reported 25 human cases of West Nile Virus this year, compared to last year’s 181.

Councillors agreed to a proposed enhancement plan for a stretch of downtown streets that would aim to increase biker safety in light of previous crashes, particularly those involving trucks. In a unanimous vote for the plan on Wednesday, Ottawa would implement revised bike lane infrastructure along portions of Gladstone Avenue, Arthur Street, Christie Street and Gilmour Avenue – safety improvements which Somerset Ward Councillor Ariel Troster said were basically nonexistent, particularly on Gladstone. The city also voted in favour of banning trucks from the portion of Gladstone seeing the new bike lanes, due to previous serious crashes in the area, including a 2023 collision with a dump truck that left the impacted cyclist seriously injured.

A South Ottawa workplace had a grim Wednesday afternoon after discovering the death of a man on site due to heavy equipment. Crews were called to the 4000 block of Barnesdale Road just after 12 noon, where the affected 23 year-old was pronounced dead on the scene. Ottawa Paramedics said that the accident involved the bin of a truck by which the man suffered the fatal injury, although Ottawa Police said that the incident was not being treated as suspicious. The investigation is ongoing, and now includes the Ministry of Labour as per standard procedure.