COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for July 8, 2021

A person walks a dog up the stairs on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 3, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick /THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• Ottawa's level of COVID-19 held steady Wednesday.
• Dr. Vera Etches is urging people to keep their masks after the pandemic, as they can help limit other respiratory illnesses.
• One man is sharing his story of being diagnosed with a rare heart condition just days after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Three Queen's University students are facing charges under the Reopening Ontario Act following a large block party in Kingston.

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

• New COVID-19 cases: Seven new cases on Wednesday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 27,712
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 3.8
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 0.6 per cent (June 30-July 6)
• 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

Ottawa Public Health reports seven new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday

Ottawa Public Health reported seven more people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19 and seven more cases are resolved, holding the number of active cases steady at 42.

To date, Ottawa has seen 27,712 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. No new deaths were reported in Ottawa. The death toll stands at 591 residents.

Public health officials marked zero new deaths anywhere in Ontario for the first time since Oct. 14, 2020.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Don't throw your masks away, even after vaccination

As vaccinations against COVID-19 in Ottawa and across Canada increase, many people will be eager to do away with masks and physical distancing and other COVID-19 measures that have been in place for more than a year.

But Ottawa's medical officer of health is urging residents to keep their masks handy for the future, as it's not just COVID-19 that they've helped manage.

Etches said masks, distancing, staying home when sick—and supporting people to be able to stay home when they're sick—have led to lower rates of transmission of diseases other than COVID-19.

Ottawa Public Health did not issue any influenza reports for the 2020-2021 season due to low levels of transmission, attributed to COVID-19 measures.

"I just want to tell people not to throw out their masks. They're still likely useful and to encourage people to use them as they know can be useful," Etches said.

Cloth face masks hang to dry on a clothesline. (Photo by Jacek Pobłocki on Unsplash)

One man's story of rare heart inflammation diagnosis following vaccination

Myocarditis is a condition that causes an inflammation of the heart muscle and there may be a rare link with receiving a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.

Brandon Lavoie experienced side effects three days after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. He says what started as a sore throat and body aches became worse throughout the day.

Lavoie is a 23-year-old who works a physical job as a millwright, and considers himself a fit and active person. When his chest started to hurt, he went to the hospital.

“They had me in a bed within 10 minutes,” he tells CTV News Ottawa. “I knew something was wrong when two doctors and four nurses walked into the room at once.”

He’s now recovering at home, after he was diagnosed with myocarditis. The rare condition can happen after COVID-19 or other viral infections, but doctors are now investigating whether it may be linked to mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna.

Reports from the US Centers for Disease Control and Israel’s health ministry show that this usually happens after the second dose, mainly in teens or young adults, and more often in males.

Still doctors from the University of Ottawa Heart institute stress that it is rare. As of July 3, there have been 74 reports of myocarditis or pericarditis following vaccination in all of Ontario out of millions of doses administred.

Brandon Lavoie, 23, was diagnosed with myocarditis shortly after receiving his COVID-19 vaccine. Doctors around the world are investigating whether there is a link between mRNA vaccines, such as Pfizer and Moderna, and the rare heart inflammation. (Photo submitted by Brandon Lavoie)

Charges laid following 300-person party in Kingston, Ont.'s university district

Police in Kingston, Ont. have charged three people following a large party in the city's university district over the weekend.

Police officers were called to Aberdeen Street at around 2:40 a.m. Sunday to disperse the crowd of about 300 people, well above of the 25-person limit for outdoor social gatherings under Ontario's COVID-19 regulations.

In a release Wednesday, Kingston police said officers charged three people who are 20 or 21 years old, all of whom identified as Queen's University students, were charged with hosting gatherings in excess of provincial limits under the Reopening Ontario Act.

Penalties for hosting a gathering of more than 25 people can include a fine of between $10,000 and $100,000 and can also include imprisonment of up to one year, according to the Act.

Hundreds of people were seen at a block party on Aberdeen Street in Kingston, Ont. between July 3 and 4, 2021. Three people are charged with organizing the gathering. Kingston police are asking for the public's help identifying partygoers. (Source: Dominic Christian Owens)