OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches is warning Ottawa that vaccination alone won't reduce rising case counts.
- Ottawa has surpassed 18,000 total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.
- A new COVID-19 testing centre will open up in Nepean for at least the next two weeks to meet rising demand.
- Ontario has tapped the head of Ornge Air Ambulance to lead the province through Phase 2 of its vaccination plan.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 198 new cases on Sunday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 18,023
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 114.9
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 6.5 per cent (Mar. 26 to April 1)
- Reproduction Number: 1.17 (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
Monday, April 5
- COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre - Moodie: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre – Ray Friel: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- COVID-19 CHEO Assessment Centre and Kids Come First Care Clinic at Brewer Arena: 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- COVID-19 Assessment Centre for Adults at Brewer Park Arena: 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- Centretown Community Health Centre: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sandy Hill Community Health Centre: 9 a.m. to 3:30 pm.
- Somerset West Community Health Centre: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- The drive-thru COVID-19 assessment centre at the NAC is closed April 5 and 6.
- NEW - COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Howard Darwin Centennial Arena: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
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
'Vaccination won't turn this curve,' Etches warns Ottawa as cases climb
Ottawa's medical officer of health delivered a stark message on social media on Sunday as COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the nation's capital.
Dr. Vera Etches tweeted that two weeks after moving into the "Red-Control" zone under Ontario's COVID-19 framework, "the curve has only worsened."
Furthermore, as supply of vaccines continues to be constrained in Ottawa, Dr. Etches warned that we cannot rely solely on the needles to get us through this.
"[V]accination will not turn this curve. We have added testing capacity, are making space in hospitals with canceled procedures, and it won't be enough if exponential growth continues," Etches said. "There isn't enough vaccine to protect everyone from this resurgence."
Ottawa is part of Ontario's so-called "provincewide shutdown", which places increased restrictions on many private and public gatherings and closes restaurant dining rooms and patios, gyms and salons.
Ottawa surpasses 18,000 COVID-19 cases
Ottawa Public Health is reporting another 198 people in the city have tested positive for COVID-19, pushing the capital's pandemic total to more than 18,000 confirmed cases.
Ottawa surpassed 17,000 cases on March 29.
Sunday's report from Ottawa Public Health's COVID-19 dashboard shows Ottawa has seen 18,023 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the first case was confirmed on March 11, 2020.
No new deaths were reported Sunday, leaving the city's pandemic death toll at 467 residents.
There are 47 people in the hospital and 16 in the ICU. The number of people with known active cases of COVID-19 has surpassed 1,600. The city's incidence rate of new cases per 100,000 people is nearly 115 and the estimated reproduction number remains above 1, meaning the virus is spreading.
New temporary COVID-19 testing centre opens in Nepean
A new COVID-19 assessment centre is opening today in Nepean.
The new site will be at the Howard Darwin Centennial Arena at 1765 Merviale Rd.
The assessment centre will take appointments for COVID-19 testing for anyone four years of age or older. It will operate seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce says this site will be open for at least two weeks to meet a rising demand for tests as cases climb.
You can book an appointment by calling 1-877-232-8828 and selecting option 2 for ‘test booking’. The phone line is available in French and English and operates from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. If you need to cancel an appointment, you're asked to call the same number.
Ontario taps Ornge Air Ambulance president to lead rollout of vaccines to essential workers
The Ontario government has appointed the head of the province's air ambulance service as the new task force head for Phase 2 of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, a spokesperson for Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said Dr. Homer Tien, a trauma surgeon and the president and CEO of Ornge Air Ambulance, will serve as the operational lead of the vaccine distribution task force as the province moves into Phase 2.
"Dr. Tien has been part of the Task Force since it was established and has worked closely with the province on leading Operation Remote Immunity. Operation Remote Immunity was instrumental in delivering and administering vaccines to 31 remote fly-in First Nation communities in northern Ontario plus Moosonee," the statement said.
Phase 2 will prioritize frontline workers, the spokesperson said.
According to the provincial government, Phase 2 will run from April through June, and will focus on high-risk congregate settings such as shelters and community living, individuals with high-risk chronic conditions and their caregivers, those who cannot work from home and other at-risk populations.
