OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Ontario's chief coroner is investigating three sudden deaths of COVID-19 patients who died in their Ottawa homes.
- Ottawa Public Health reported a record number of newly resolved COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
- The City of Ottawa confirmed a new slate of appointments for COVID-19 vaccines in Ottawa was made available Tuesday.
- Quebec Premier Francois Legault is extending pandemic restrictions in Gatineau and western Quebec until May 9.
- Ottawa's new auditor general will be reviewing the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic once the virus is under control.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 144 cases on Tuesday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 23,647
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 132.3
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 10.5 per cent (April 19 to April 25)
- Reproduction Number: 0.92 (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.
- Southwest Ottawa COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Richmond Memorial Community Centre: Open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 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
Ontario's chief coroner investigating sudden deaths of COVID-19 patients in Ottawa homes
Ontario's chief coroner says investigations are underway into three recent deaths in Ottawa involving COVID-19 patients who died at home, CTV News has confirmed.
The Ottawa Citizen first reported that the coroner was investigating sudden deaths of COVID-19 patients in their homes in Ottawa.
Speaking to CTV News Ottawa, Dr. Dirk Huyer said he was aware of three deaths in the city that were under investigation. He did not have specifics regarding the individuals in Ottawa who died, but said his office is also investigating 29 deaths in the south-central area of the province since the start of April.
Huyer said screening for possible COVID-19 variants is still ongoing in these cases. He added that while the individuals in question had symptoms, they were not considered severe.
Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa fall as city sees record number of recoveries
Ottawa Public Health is reporting 144 more people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19 and three more people have died.
According to Ottawa Public Health's COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 23,647 total laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa since the pandemic began and 498 residents have died.
OPH also reported a record high number of 370 newly resolved cases, which brought the number of known active cases below 2,500.
The city's weekly incidence rate of new cases per 100,000 people continues to fall and is now below 140. The estimated reproduction number, which is how many secondary cases of disease are caused by a single infected individual, remains below the figure of 1.0, which means the spread of the virus is slowing down; however, the curve of the number has changed following Monday's report of a significantly lower figure.
New COVID-19 vaccine shipment opens up more appointments in Ottawa
The City of Ottawa says more COVID-19 vaccine appointments are available locally.
In a public service announcement, the city confirmed a new delivery of COVID-19 vaccine doses, allowing new appointments booked through the provincial portal to be made available to eligible residents as of 12 p.m. Tuesday. The appointments will be between May 1 and 28.
The news comes as Ottawa residents aged 45 and older living in three hot spots in Ottawa became eligible to book COVID-19 vaccination appointments.
The Ontario government is expanding booking for COVID-19 vaccination appointments to people 45 and older in designated hot spot communities in 13 public health units, as identified by postal code.
As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, everyone 45 and over in 2021 living in Ottawa postal codes K1T, K1V and K2V can book an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine through the provincial booking system.
Pandemic restrictions in Outaouais extended to May 9
Pandemic restrictions in Gatineau and western Quebec, including an 8 p.m. curfew, will remain in effect for another week.
In a press conference Tuesday, Premier Francois Legault said that the special emergency measures in force in the Outaouais region, which were scheduled to expire on May 2, will remain in effect until May 9.
While the Outaouais has seen fewer COVID-19 cases in recent days, Legault said the area's testing positivity rate remains well above the provincial average and the region is at its limit for COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The CISSS de l'Outaouais reported 57 new cases of COVID-19 in the region on Tuesday. The region has 650 active cases, the majority of which are in Gatineau. There are 56 people in the region's hospitals with COVID-19, seven of whom are in intensive care.
Auditor General to review Ottawa's pandemic response… after the pandemic
The City of Ottawa’s new auditor general will look at the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that won’t happen until the virus is in a controlled state.
At her first Audit Committee meeting as AG, held virtually on Tuesday, Nathalie Gougeon outlined the plan for her office in 2021.
She says reviewing the city’s response to COVID-19 is important, but it won’t happen right away.
“While the review of the city’s response to the pandemic is a very key area for us to review, we will be refraining from commencing any work in this area until we believe the pandemic is in a controlled state for the city,” she said. “We do not want to interfere in the city’s ability to deliver the very important services to its residents. As such, I do not anticipate our office commencing any work in this area until either later this year or early 2022.”
Gougeon says this will be a “multi-phased audit”. She anticipates that there are many areas within how the city responded to the pandemic and she would like to “dive in to those areas.”
