OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Ottawa Public Health reported the lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in a single day since mid-December.
- City officials are urging patience as vaccine shipment delays stall the local rollout.
- Eleven employees of a Rona store in Val-des-Monts have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the store to close temporarily.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford wants the federal government to ban flights from countries with COVID-19 variants.
- An Ottawa teacher has turned the snow fort on his front lawn into a virtual classroom as kids continue to learn from home.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 23 new cases on Tuesday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 13,000
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 54.8
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 3.0 per cent (Jan. 18 - Jan. 24)
- Reproduction Number: 0.90 (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 sees lowest daily COVID-19 case count in six weeks
Ottawa Public Health reported on Tuesday that 23 more people in Ottawa tested positive for COVID-19, its lowest daily report since Dec. 15.
One new COVID-19 related death was also reported in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Weekly trends in Ottawa continue to show signs of improvement, with the weekly incidence rate per 100,000 residents dropping below 55 and the estimated reproduction number still below 1. The testing positivity rate was 3.0 per cent for the week of Jan. 18 to 24. The number of people with known active cases of COVID-19 also continues to fall and is now below 800.
Local labs performed 3,596 COVID-19 tests on Monday. Testing figures are typically well below capacity on Mondays, but the figure is on par with previous weeks.
The positivity rate for the week of Jan. 18 to 24 was 3.0 per cent. The taskforce reported a positivty rate of 4.0 per cent for the week of Jan. 11 to 17 and a 4.6 per cent positivity rate for the week of Jan. 4 to 10.
City urging patience as Pfizer vaccine shipments stalled
With no new shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine coming to Canada this week, city of Ottawa officials say they don’t know when to expect the next batch of doses from the province.
Health officials told councillors during a technical briefing on Tuesday they are ready to ramp up their vaccine campaign as soon as supply allows.
But the immediate focus, with limited doses, is to administer second doses to residents of long-term care homes, and first doses to people in retirement homes.
The city says its plan will eventually allow it to vaccinate 10,800 people per day, through a combination of pharmacies, mobile vaccination teams, hospitals, doctor’s offices and seven community clinics.
As of Monday, Ottawa had received 25,350 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and has administered 23,883 doses, both first and second shots, to residents. Ottawa has not received any doses of the Moderna vaccine.
COVID-19 outbreak declared at Val-des-Monts Rona
The public health agency for the Outaouais region of Quebec has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the Rona store in Val-des-Monts, saying 11 employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
The Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) said in a press release on Tuesday that the risk to shoppers is considered low, but they are asking anyone who visited the store between Jan. 17 and Jan. 23 to monitor for symptoms and to call 1-877-644-4545 to make an appointment for testing if symptoms develop.
The store on Route du Carrefour, just a short distance north of Gatineau, was temporarily closed, the CISSSO said Tuesday.
Ford calls for flight ban from countries with COVID-19 variants
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on the federal government to ban flights from countries with COVID-19 variants.
The premier made the announcement at Toronto's Pearson Airport, where a voluntary COVID-19 testing pilot project is underway.
According to the province, 6,580 tests for the novel coronavirus have been conducted as part of the pilot project. Of those tests, 146 came back positive and of those positive results, four have been screened as potential U.K. variant and will undergo further investigation.
According to the province, recent data shows that 1.8 per cent of all COVID-19 cases in Ontario are related to international travel.
Ottawa teacher delights students with snow fort 'classroom'
Keeping students engaged while they're learning online is no easy task, but one Ottawa elementary school teacher has created a very cool classroom.
Patrick Revie teaches grades 1-8 at École élémentaire catholique George-Étienne-Cartier in Ottawa’s French Catholic school board. He turned the front lawn of his Alta Vista neighbourhood home into an online classroom by teaching from inside a snow fort.
He built a snow fort with his own kids and thought his students would enjoy it too.
So far, they have. One student told CTV News it was a lot of fun and her father also applauded the move.
Elementary school students are still learning from home this week after the provincial government extended the online learning mandate for all but a handful of public health districts in the province.
With files from CTV's Kayla Goodfield.
