COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for July 25, 2021

Downtown Ottawa on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• 70 per cent of Ottawa adults fully vaccinated
• One COVID-19 patient in hospital on Saturday as Ottawa Public Health reports six new cases
• Ottawa Police sending $1 million bill to government for Ottawa-Gatineau border checkpoints, vaccination clinics
• Toronto's Pearson Airport begins separating arrivals based on vaccination status

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

• New COVID-19 cases: Six new cases on Saturday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 27,774
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 4.4
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 0.5 per cent (seven day average)
• Reproduction Number: 1.09 (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

70 per cent of Ottawa adults fully vaccinated

The city of Ottawa has hit a new milestone in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

On Saturday, the city announced 70 per cent of residents 18 and older have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and are now considered fully vaccinated.

Speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron on Friday, associate medical officer of health Dr. Brent Moloughney said Ottawa needs to continue to push the vaccination rates higher to protect against the more transmissible variants.

"What we think now with this Delta variant is we need to be close to 90 per cent, in that ballpark, fully vaccinated. So that means we got to continue to push the existing number of people with first dose," said Moloughney.

Health-care worker Thi Nguyen administers Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a COVID-19 clinic in Ottawa on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

One COVID-19 patient in hospital Saturday as OPH reports six new cases

Ottawa Public Health reported one COVID-19 patient in an Ottawa hospital on Friday, after nine days of hospitals being COVID-19 free.

The individual is in their 30s.

Public health reported six new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa in March, 2020, there have been 27,774 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 593 deaths.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Ottawa-Gatineau border checkpoints, vaccination clinics cost Ottawa police $1 million

Police checkpoints at Ottawa-Gatineau border crossings and officers assigned to COVID-19 vaccination clinics have cost the Ottawa Police Service $1 million so far this year.

The second quarter financial status report for the Ottawa Police Services Board shows the service incurred $1 million in costs related to checkpoints at interprovincial crossings in April, May and June and the city of Ottawa's vaccination clinics.

Staff say the Ontario government will cover the $1 million costs related to COVID-19 operations in Ottawa.

"The OPS has an agreement with the Solicitor General of Ontario that we will be reimbursed an estimated $1 million for incremental costs related to the interprovincial border enforcement due to the Stay at Home Order and the vaccination clinics."

Ottawa Police to stop 24/7 monitoring of inter-provincial border crossings.

Toronto Pearson Airport begins separating arrivals based on vaccination status

Toronto's Pearson International Airport says international passengers will now be separated by vaccination status before heading through customs at the airport.

The airport told CTV News Toronto the decision was made to help streamline border clearance, as there are different entry requirements for vaccinated and non-or-partially vaccinated travellers.

Currently, fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada may qualify for certain exemptions to quarantine and testing requirements.

Starting Aug. 9, fully vaccinated U.S. citizens will be exempt from quarantine and testing requirements.

People wearing mandatory masks wait at their gate using physical distancing at Toronto's Pearson International Airport for a "Healthy Airport" during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette