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

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• Zero new COVID-19 cases were reported in Ottawa on Monday for the first time in more than a year.
• Another record for COVID-19 vaccinations was set in Ottawa last week.
• The World Health Organization warned against mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines, but the federal and provincial governments are standing by the policy.

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

• New COVID-19 cases: Zero new cases on Monday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 27,729
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 3.0
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 0.9 per cent
• Reproduction Number: 0.84 (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 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

Zero new cases

Ottawa Public Health is reporting zero new COVID-19 cases in Ottawa for the first time since July 7, 2020.

The zero figure in Ottawa comes on a day when Public Health Ontario is reporting the lowest daily case count since Sept. 1, 2020, with 114 newly confirmed cases and zero new deaths linked to the disease.

Across eastern Ontario, only one COVID-19 case was confirmed in the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health region.

Active cases continue to fall and the weekly rate of new cases per 100,000 is still on the decline. Weekly average testing positivity is down and Ottawa ICUs remain free of COVID-19 patients.

The estimated reproduction number, or R(t), which measures how quickly the virus is spreading, dropped back below 1 Monday after poking above 1 on Sunday. The figure regularly fluctuates in the most up-to-date reporting. The current trend line shows a rise in the R(t) starting around Canada Day with a decline in the last few days.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Another vaccination record broken

Ottawa Public Health is reporting another record-breaking week for COVID-19 vaccination in Ottawa, with more than 132,000 does administered locally.

The 132,095 doses administered from July 4 to 10 slightly eclipses the previous week's record of 131,525.

The busiest single day for vaccine administration in Ottawa remains June 25, when 21,415 shots were administered across the city.

The pace of first doses has slowed in recent weeks but second doses have surged. OPH reports 15,843 first doses were administered in Ottawa last week, compared to 116,252 second doses. During the week of June 13, 41,280 first shots and 49,244 second shots were administered.

To date, 749,033 residents of Ottawa 12 and older have had at least one dose and 498,340 are fully vaccinated. That accounts for 71 per cent coverage across the entire population with one dose and 47 per cent with two.

 

COVID-19 vaccine coverage in Ottawa
Infogram

WHO cautions against mixing and matching vaccines, but Canada and Ontario stand by decision

The World Health Organization's chief scientist is warning against the mixing and matching of COVID-19 vaccines by different manufacturers, calling it a "dangerous trend."

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said Monday the practice is largely untested.

“We are in a data-free, evidence-free zone as far as mix and match. There is limited data on mix and match,” she said.

Not long after her comments, the Ontario government issued a statement saying defending its policy. 

"Ontario continues to follow the advice of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), which recommends that it is safe to mix vaccines based on studies from the UK, Spain and Germany that have found that mixing vaccines is safe and produces a strong immune response," a spokesperson for Health Minister Christine Elliott told CTV News.

NACI updated its guidance in early June, saying there is no reason to believe that mixing mRNA vaccines would result in any additional safety issues or deficiency in protection. It also said an mRNA vaccine is the preferred choice for a second shot for those who received AstraZeneca's viral vector vaccine as their first dose.

Swaminathan also warned against rushing to give people a third or more doses, saying there is no scientific evidence to suggest that boosters are definitely needed.

Vials of both Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines sit empty on the counter at the Junction Chemist Pharmacy, in Toronto, Friday, June 18, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette