OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Ontario schools will switch to remote learning following the April Break.
- Ottawa has surpassed 20,000 total cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
- The Outaouais region set a pandemic record with 290 new cases reported on Monday.
- The City and the NCC are working on stepping up enforcement in parks after reports of large gatherings over the weekend.
- Nearly 48,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in Ottawa last week
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 348 new cases on Monday.
- Total COVID-19 cases: 20,073
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 173.7
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 9.9 per cent (April 5 to April 11)
- Reproduction Number: 1.41 (seven day average)
Testing:
Who should get a test?
Ottawa Public Health says you can get a COVID-19 test at an assessment centre, care clinic, or community testing site if any of the following apply to you:
- You are showing COVID-19 symptoms;
- You have been exposed to a confirmed case of the virus, as informed by Ottawa Public Health or exposure notification through the COVID Alert app;
- You are a resident or work in a setting that has a COVID-19 outbreak, as identified and informed by Ottawa Public Health;
- You are a resident, a worker or a visitor to long-term care, retirement homes, homeless shelters or other congregate settings (for example: group homes, community supported living, disability-specific communities or congregate settings, short-term rehab, hospices and other shelters);
- You are a person who identifies as First Nations, Inuit or Métis;
- You are a person travelling to work in a remote First Nations, Inuit or Métis community;
- You received a preliminary positive result through rapid testing;
- You require testing 72 hours before a scheduled (non-urgent or emergent) surgery (as recommended by your health care provider);
- You are a patient and/or their 1 accompanying escort travelling out of country for medical treatment;
- You are an international student that has passed their 14-day quarantine period;
- You are a farm worker;
- You are an educator who cannot access pharmacy-testing; or
- You are in a targeted testing group as outlined in guidance from the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
Where to get tested for COVID-19 in Ottawa:
There are several sites for COVID-19 testing in Ottawa. To book an appointment, visit https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/shared-content/assessment-centres.aspx
- The Brewer Ottawa Hospital/CHEO Assessment Centre: Open Monday to Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- COVID-19 Drive-Thru Assessment Centre at 300 Coventry Road: Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- The Moodie Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Open Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (testing only)
- The Heron Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- The Ray Friel Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (testing only)
- COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Howard Darwin Centennial Arena: Open daily 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
- Centretown Community Health Centre: Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sandy Hill Community Health Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 pm.
- Somerset West Community Health Centre: Open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Wednesday.
Vaccine eligibility screening tool:
To check and see if you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Ottawa, click here.
COVID-19 screening tool:
The COVID-19 screening tool for students heading back to in-person classes can be found here.
Symptoms:
Classic Symptoms: fever, new or worsening cough, shortness of breath
Other symptoms: sore throat, difficulty swallowing, new loss of taste or smell, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, pneumonia, new or unexplained runny nose or nasal congestion
Less common symptoms: unexplained fatigue, muscle aches, headache, delirium, chills, red/inflamed eyes, croup
In-person learning will not return after April Break
Elementary and high school students in Ontario will be learning from home next week and for the foreseeable future amid record-breaking daily COVID-19 case counts province-wide.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced Monday that schools across the province would be switching to remote learning starting the week of April 19.
"We're moving school online only after the April break, we will keep a constant eye on the data, on case numbers, hospital capacity, and ICU admissions to determine when we get kids back in the classrooms," Ford said Monday.
"I want nothing more than to be able to open the schools up again as soon as possible. But we all need to work together right now to get the community spread under control."
The announcement came on day after Lecce issued a letter to parents insisting that schools would remain open during the province is under a stay-at-home order.
Ottawa surpasses 20,000 COVID-19 cases
Ottawa Public Health reported Monday that another 348 people had tested positive for COVID-19, pushing the city beyond 20,000 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
It was the third straight day of case counts north of 300, following 325 new cases on Saturday and 370 on Sunday, both of which were record highs.
The number of people in hospitals also surged to 96, with 29 in intensive care, both pandemic records of their own.
One new death was reported on Monday, bringing the city's pandemic death toll to 476 residents.
Cases surge in the Outaouais
The Outaouais region of Quebec saw its own pandemic record on Monday with 290 new cases.
Gatineau and western Quebec accounted for the second-highest regional case count across all of Quebec, behind only Montreal.
The CISSS de l'Outaouais says there are 50 people in regional hospitals, including three in intensive care.
Of the more than 1000 active cases of COVID-19 in the region—which remains in lockdown—about three quarters are in the city of Gatineau.
City, NCC responding to large gatherings at local parks
The National Capital Commission says it is working with the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Public Health on additional steps to enforce public health measures in parks after photos of beer bottles and other debris at Vincent Massey Park were shared on social media.
Some residents posted photos showing empty beer bottles and cases on picnic tables at the park following what appeared to be a large gathering this past weekend.
The NCC said on Twitter Monday that they are looking at further options to prevent large gatherings like this during the stay-at-home order.
River Ward Coun. Riley Brockington told CTV News Ottawa that he'd like to see capacity limits and nightly curfews for local parks until it is safer to gather in large numbers again.
Almost 48,000 jabs in Ottawa last week
Ottawa Public Health is reporting its busiest week of vaccinations so far in Ottawa.
According to the health unit's COVID-19 vaccination dashboard, 47,909 doses of vaccines were administered between April 4 and April 10. The previous week, March 28 to April 3, saw 35,946 shots administered.
Twenty per cent of all Ottawa residents 16 and older have had at least one dose. Three per cent have had both.
