OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Ottawa Public Health reported its lowest daily COVID-19 case count since February on Monday.
- More than 50,000 residents have now received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
- There was a pause put on new COVID-19 vaccine appointments Monday because of issues with the provincial booking system.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 39 on Monday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 27,058
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 39.4
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 4.7 per cent (May 24 to May 30)
- Reproduction Number: 0.93 (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 6 p.m.
- The Moodie Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Open Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (testing only)
- 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. Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (testing only)
- 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 students heading back to in-person classes can be found here.
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 sees lowest daily case count since February
Ottawa Public Health said Monday that 39 more people in Ottawa had tested positive for COVID-19, which was the lowest daily case count since late February.
It came the same day the province reported fewer than 1,000 new cases in a single day for the first time since March.
One more person in Ottawa has died due to COVID-19. Sixty-three resident deaths have been reported in Ottawa in May.
Monday's update from Ottawa Public Health saw the city's weekly per capita incidence rate drop below 40 for the first time since mid-March, when the province moved Ottawa to what was then known as the "Red Control" restriction level. Ottawa's testing positivity rate has dropped below five per cent, and active cases are now below 700.
More than 50,000 Ottawans fully vaccinated against COVID-19
More than 50,000 residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as administration of second doses continues to increase.
The latest data from OPH's COVID-19 vaccination dashboard show 50,601 Ottawa residents 12 and older have had both doses of COVID-19 vaccine, 11,047 more than last Monday.
Administration of first doses also continues, with more than 44,000 first shots administered in the last week. Nearly 540,000 residents—62 per cent of all adults—have had at least one dose so far. The city has also surpassed the 50 per cent mark for first dose coverage among the total population with 51 per cent of residents having at least one dose.
Vaccine administration in Ottawa slowed last week compared to the record-setting week before, with 55,918 total doses administered between May 23 and May 29. The week prior had seen more than 67,000 shots in arms.
Issues with vaccine booking system put the brakes on new appointments as seniors seek earlier second dose
The City of Ottawa said Monday that bookings for COVID-19 vaccine appointments had to be paused because of an issue with the provincial system.
In a tweet, the city said bookings would remain paused until the issue is rectified. A timeline was not available.
In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, a spokesperson for Health Minister Christine Elliott's office said there were some overbookings because of the glitch.
"A clinic configuration issue was identified (Monday) morning that is allowing some individuals to book into clinics that did not have available appointments – causing an overbooking in some but not all scenarios," the statement said.
"Ottawa Public Health asked the ministry to temporarily pause clinic bookings until the issue had been resolved. We continue to work on the resolution with input from the Ottawa Public Health Unit and are working to have the issue resolved as soon as possible."
This came just hours after seniors 80 and older became eligible to rebook their second dose appointments for earlier than the previous 16-week interval set out by the province.
Nearly 39,000 residents 80 and older--91.8 per cent of all seniors of that age in the city--have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 9,700 have had two.
