OTTAWA -- style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Ontario anticipates all adults over 18 will be eligible to book a vaccine appointment by the end of May
- Ottawa recorded 118 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the fewest since early April
- Ottawa released 80,000 new vaccine appointments with the anticipated supply ramp-up.
- Ontario officially approved a new paid sick leave program, which the opposition slammed as inadequate
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 118 cases on Thursday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 23,982
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 131
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 9.9 per cent (April 21 to April 27)
- Reproduction Number: 0.84 (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
Ontario anticipates all adults over 18 will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccine by end of May
The Ontario government will be allowing anyone aged 55 and over to get a COVID-19 vaccine through the provincial portal starting Friday and hopes to start booking vaccine appointments for all adults over the age of 18 by the end of May.
As of 8 a.m. on April 30, individuals aged 55 and up will be able to book a vaccination appointment at a mass immunization clinic.
The province says they expect to see an increase in vaccine supply, which will allow them to ramp up the rollout and reduce the age threshold at mass immunization clinics on a weekly basis. Officials anticipate moving the age threshold to 50 during the week of May 3, followed by an age threshold of 40 on the week of May 10.
Ottawa records 118 new COVID-19 cases, fewest since early April
Ottawa Public Health reported some good news and some bad news in its daily release of new COVID-19 case data on Thursday.
The good news: the health unit is reporting 118 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, the fewest since the beginning of April.
However, the city also hit a new high mark of critical care patients, with 35 Ottawa residents in intensive care units in local hospitals.
Ottawa opens 80,000 more COVID-19 vaccination appointments for eligible residents
The city of Ottawa is preparing to ramp-up the COVID-19 vaccine rollout as Ontario anticipates all adults over 18 will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 by the end of May.
People 55 and older will be eligible to book appointments starting Friday morning at 8 a.m.
Ontario officially approves paid sick day program
The Ontario legislature has officially approved new legislation that will give employees three days of paid emergency leave during COVID-19.
The bill was tabled by Labour Minister Monte McNaughton this morning and quickly passed through the legislative process with the support of opposition politicians at Queen's Park.
The legislation will give employees three paid days of emergency leave, which McNaughton said could be claimed for a variety of reasons related to COVID-19, including signs of illness, to receive a test, to case for an ill child or to receive a vaccine.
