COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for July 16, 2021

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• Restaurants can open for indoor dining and gyms can welcome customers again as Step 3 begins in Ontario's reopening plan
• Ottawa Public Health recorded zero new COVID-19 cases for the third time this week
• Doug Ford is ruling out a provincial vaccine passport for Ontarians
• The federal government will provide an update on Canada-U.S. border restrictions 'in the coming days,' Canada's intergovernmental affairs minister says

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

• New COVID-19 cases: No new cases
• Total COVID-19 cases: 27,730
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 1.6
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 0.8 per cent
• Reproduction Number: 0.55 (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

Step 3 of reopening begins in Ontario

Restaurants, gyms and other businesses are breathing sighs of relief today as they can welcome customers back indoors for the first time in months.

Restaurants rejoice as indoor dining resumes Friday, when Ontario moves into Step 3 of its reopening plan. Ottawa, On. July 15, 2020. (Tyler Fleming / CTV News)

Ottawa reports no new COVID-19 cases for the third time this week

Ottawa Public Health reporteed no new COVID-19 cases on Thursday for the third time in four days.

One more person has died from the virus. No new cases were resolved, meaning the number of active cases has dropped by one, to 24.

There are no COVID-19 patients in hospital in the capital.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Doug Ford rules out a provincial vaccine passport

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in the strongest terms yet Thursday that the province will not create a vaccine passport that would allow people to signal to businesses and other organizations that they have been vaccinated.

“The answer is no, we're not gonna do it. We're not gonna have a split society,” Ford told reporters in response to a question about creating vaccine passports Thursday at the first press conference he has held in some time.

Premier Doug Ford speaks with reporters Thursday July 15, 2021.

Feds to provide update on border restrictions in 'coming days': LeBlanc

The federal government will have more to say on the easing of border restrictions in the "coming days," says Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, LeBlanc said it will be a topic of discussion at tonight’s meeting with premiers, but that they are approaching the issue with caution as COVID-19 variants of concern still linger.

President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada Dominic LeBlanc participates in a news conference via video conference Tuesday January 5, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld