OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Ottawa schools will remain closed for in-person learning next week. Schools in Renfrew County and Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Units will reopen on Monday
- Ottawa Public Health reported 67 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the third straight day with fewer than 100 cases
- Long-term care homes the priority for Ottawa's limited COVID-19 vaccine supply
- Ottawa man charged for violating the Quarantine Act
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 67 new cases on Wednesday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 12,494
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 72.9
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 3.5 per cent (Jan. 13 - Jan. 19)
- Reproduction Number: 0.72 (seven day average)
Testing:
Who should get a test?
Ottawa Public Health says there are five reasons to seek testing for COVID-19:
- You are showing COVID-19 symptoms. OR
- 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. OR
- You are a resident or work in a setting that has a COVID-19 outbreak, as identified and informed by Ottawa Public Health. OR
- You are eligible for testing as part of a targeted testing initiative directed by the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Long-Term Care OR
- You have traveled to the U.K., or have come into contact with someone who recently traveled to the U.K., please go get tested immediately (even if you have no symptoms).
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 Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Friday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
COVID-19 Drive-thru assessment centre at National Arts Centre: 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.
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.
The COVID-19 Assessment Centre at McNabb Community Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Symptoms:
Classic Symptoms: fever, new or worsening cough, shortness of breath
Other symptoms: sore throat, difficulty swallow, 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
Ottawa schools will remain closed for in-person learning next week
Elementary and secondary school students in Ottawa will not be returning to the classroom for in-person learning on Monday.
The Ontario government announced all students in the Ottawa Public Health region will continue with remote learning next week and schools will remain closed.
Schools within the Eastern Ontario Health Unit region will also remain closed on Monday. The announcement did not say when schools could reopen for in-person learning.
The Ontario government says elementary and secondary schools in the following Public Health Units will be permitted to resume in-person learning on Jan. 25:
- Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Health Unit
- Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit
- Peterborough Public Health
- Renfrew County and District Health Unit
- Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit
- Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
- Grey Bruce Health Unit
Schools in the following school boards in eastern Ontario will resume learning on Jan. 25.
- Renfrew Country District School Board
- Renfrew County Catholic District School Board
- Limestone District School Board
- Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board
The Ontario government says some schools in the Upper Canada District School Board, Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario, the Conseil des ecoles catholiques du Centre-Est and the Conseil des ecoles publiques de l'Est will be allowed to open in public health unit regions where schools are permitted to open.
Weekly COVID-19 trends in Ottawa showing signs of improvement
Ottawa Public Health reported 67 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Wednesday, the third straight day with fewer than 100 new cases of COVID-19.
Two new deaths linked to the virus were announced.
Since the first case of COVID-19 on March 11, there have been 12,494 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 409 deaths.
"We are seeing a few encouraging indicators that the provincial shutdown measures which began in December are starting to have an impact on the COVID-19 situation here in Ottawa," said Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa's medical officer of health.
"We've begun to see improvements in our test positivity rates, fewer people are testing positive for COVID than in recent weeks, individuals have fewer close contacts and wastewater counts of the virus are no longer increasing."
Long-term care homes the priority for Ottawa’s limited COVID-19 vaccine supply
Facing a shortage of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine doses over the next few weeks, city officials say their priority is to administer the second dose of the vaccine to residents and staff in Ottawa's long-term care homes.
"Our priority is to get the long-term care residents protected as quickly as possible," said Anthony Di Monte, Ottawa's General Manager of Emergency and Protective Services.
The Ottawa Public Health COVID-19 Dashboard shows the Ottawa Hospital received 2,925 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.
"The vaccine supply for this week will be used to administer second doses to ensure that those individuals who have received their first round of vaccinations become immunized as directed by the province," said Di Monte on Wednesday afternoon while discussing the city's plan to continue vaccinating residents.
Ottawa man charged under Quarantine Act after allegedly disobeying post-travel rules
A 24-year-old man who recently returned to Ottawa from Rwanda is facing charges under the Quarantine Act.
On Tuesday, Ottawa police received a complaint about a man allegedly disobeying the Quarantine Act.
Police say information was received indicating that a Canadian resident returned to Canada on Jan. 12 and was required to quarantine until Jan. 26 in a quarantine designated facility on King Edward Avenue.
Police say when officers visited the man to investigate the complaint, he was found to be in the presence of two other people.
