COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Aug. 13, 2021

People visit the Canadian Museum of Nature as Ontario enters phase 3 of reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on Friday, July 16, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -

Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.

Fast Facts:

• Carleton University, Queen's University make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for students, staff and faculty
• 'Strong resurgence trajectory': Tam says Canada has entered fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic
• Ottawa sees highest one-day COVID-19 case count in nearly two months

COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):

• New COVID-19 cases: 21 new cases on Thursday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 27,924
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 8.4
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 0.8 per cent (seven day average)
• Reproduction Number: 1.20 (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 are a patient and/or their 1 accompanying escort tra­velling out of country for medical treatment;
• 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.

Long-term care staff, caregivers, volunteers and visitors who are fully immunized against COVID-19 are not required to present a negative COVID-19 test before entering or visiting a long-term care home.

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 Friday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• COVID-19 Drive-Thru Assessment Centre at 300 Coventry Road: Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• The Moodie Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 
• The Ray Friel Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• North Grenville COVID-19 Assessment Centre (Kemptville) – 15 Campus Drive: Open Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 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, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday

COVID-19 screening tool:

The COVID-19 screening tool for summer camp children and staff. All campers and staff must complete the COVID-19 School and Childcare screening tool daily.

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

COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for Carleton University students, staff and faculty this fall

Carleton University students, faculty and staff must be fully vaccinated to access campus this fall.

Less than four weeks before the start of the 2021 fall semester, the Ottawa university announced COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory for everyone returning to the campus.

"In light of the rising Delta variant and evolving public health advice, Carleton is implementing vaccination requirements for campus access for fall 2021," said Carleton University's COVID-19 lead Suzanne Blanchard in an email to the Carleton community.

"In order to be granted full access to campus, all members of the Carleton community—including all students, faculty, and staff— will be required to have received a full course of a Health Canada or World Health Organization approved vaccine, for at least 14 days."

Students who are not fully vaccinated will be required to undergo rapid testing to be allowed access to campus.

Queen's University in Kingston also announced on Thursday that vaccines will be mandatory for everyone accessing the campus.

Carleton University

'Strong resurgence trajectory': Tam says Canada has entered fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic

Canada's chief public health officer says the country is now in the midst of a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as variants of the virus continue to spread.

“We have been closely monitoring increases in COVID-19 activity across the country. The latest national surveillance data indicate that a fourth wave is underway in Canada and that cases are plotting along a strong resurgence trajectory,” Dr. Theresa Tam said speaking to reporters on Thursday.

Dr. Tam says it's imperative more Canadians get vaccinated to reduce the impact of the fourth wave on the health care system or back-to-school plans.

Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam responds to a question during a news conference Monday October 5, 2020 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Ottawa sees highest one-day COVID-19 case count in nearly two months

Ottawa Public Health reported 21 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Thursday, the highest one-day increase in cases in nearly two months.

No new deaths were reported in the capital.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa in March 2020, there have been 27,924 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 593 deaths.

The 21 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa is the highest one-day increase in cases since June 20, when 26 new cases were reported.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram