OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Ontario issues 28-day stay-at-home order for Ottawa and all of Ontario
- Ottawa's positivity rate increases to 8.8 per cent, hospitalizations surge to highest levels since the first wave
- Queensway Carleton Hospital, Ottawa Hospital postpone non-urgent surgeries as hospitals exceed capacity
- 43,000 Ottawa residents aged 60 and over booked a COVID-19 vaccine appointment on Wednesday
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 196 new cases on Wednesday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 18,632
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 132.1
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 8.8 per cent (Mar. 31 to April 6)
- Reproduction Number: 1.06 (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.
- 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.
- COVID-19 Drive-Thru Assessment Centre at 300 Coventry Road: Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 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
What Ontario's stay-at-home order means for Ottawa
A 28-day, stay-at-home order went into effect at 12:01 a.m.
Premier Doug Ford announced Ontario is declaring a third state of emergency since the beginning of the pandemic and will be implementing the provincewide stay-at-home order.
"I can't stress this enough. Things are extremely, extremely serious right now. And I'm extremely concerned," Ford said Wednesday.
Under the stay-at-home order, all non-essential retailers will close to in-person shopping, in-person dining remains prohibited and gyms and personal care services remain closed.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Ottawa surge to levels not seen since first wave
Ottawa Public Health reported 196 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Wednesday, along with one new death linked to the virus.
Since the first case on March 11, 2020, there have been 18,632 laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 470 deaths.
There are now 69 people in hospital with COVID-19 related illnesses, the highest number of people in hospital since April 2020. The previous peak for hospitalizations was 63.
Ottawa's positivity rate increased to 8.8 per cent.
Queensway Carleton Hospital, Ottawa Hospital postpone non-urgent surgeries as hospitals exceed capacity
The Queensway Carleton Hospital is cancelling non-urgent elective surgeries that require admission for the next four weeks following a rise in the occupancy rate.
The hospital in Ottawa's west-end is currently operating at 113 per cent capacity. There are currently 138 patients on isolation precautions at the hospital.
"We have made the decision to stop non-urgent elective surgeries that require admission for the next four weeks. We will replace those with day surgeries," said the Queensway Carleton Hospital in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.
"The reason we’re cancelling them is because we are seeing an increased occupancy rate in the hospital."
The Ottawa Hospital says 13 non-urgent elective surgeries that require admission have been rescheduled this week due to high hospital occupancy. Some day surgeries have been scheduled in place of the postponed surgeries.
43,000 Ottawa residents aged 60 and over booked a COVID-19 vaccine appointment on Wednesday
The city of Ottawa says 43,000 residents aged 60 and over booked an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday.
It was the first day residents born in or before 1961 can schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine at a city of Ottawa mass vaccination clinic.
"It was exciting actually because I've been waiting for this,” said Marc Pichard, who qualified as of Wednesday. "I was wondering when it would come."
