COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for June 20, 2021
Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Ottawa residents may have to interchange mRNA vaccines as more Moderna doses arrive, city says
- Ottawa Public Health reports 18 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Saturday
- Outaouais health officials pause new vaccination appointment booking due to delays with Pfizer shipment
- Canada hits important target with 20 per cent of the eligible population now fully vaccinated
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 18 new cases on Saturday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 27,544
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 15.9
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 2.9 per cent (June 11-17)
- Reproduction Number: 0.83 (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 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.
- 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
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 residents may have to interchange mRNA vaccines as more Moderna doses arrive, city says
The city of Ottawa suggests residents may have to interchange mRNA vaccines for their second dose as more Moderna doses arrive in the city.
Ottawa's general manager of emergency and protective services Anthony Di Monte says the city will attempt to have both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines available at all 11 community clinics.
"We are going to attempt to have in all our sites kind of a mix, so we'll try at the beginning to always offer you the first vaccine that you got – so if you got a Moderna, you'll get a Moderna. If you got a Pfizer, we'll try to give you a Pfizer," said Di Monte.
"But I think we will get to a point that will become more and more difficult and so you'll be able to get a vaccine, there will be a vaccine waiting for you, that's been our commitment it will be there but it might not be the one you got initially."
Ottawa received a shipment of 53,800 doses of Pfizer this week, along with 31,360 doses of Moderna. On Friday, Di Monte told council 27,000 doses of Moderna vaccines were scheduled to arrive on Friday, along with an additional "strategic allocation" of 35,000 Moderna vaccines.
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)
OPH reports 18 new COVID-19 cases, 1 new death in Ottawa
Ottawa Public Health reported 18 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Saturday, and one new death linked to the virus.
Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on March 11, 2020, there have been 27,544 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 588 deaths.
Outaouais health officials pause new vaccination appointment bookings due to delayed Pfizer delivery
Health officials in the Outaouais have temporarily paused booking new vaccine appointments due to a delay in Pfizer deliveries.
In a statement, the CISSS de l'Outaouais said a delay in the delivery of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses have forced them to close appointments available through the online booking system this weekend.
"Appointments already scheduled will be honoured," said the CISSS de l'Outaouais.
The city of Toronto announced Saturday that mass immunization clinics will only be administering the Moderna mRNA vaccine to people aged 18 and up starting on Sunday due to a delay with the weekly Pfizer shipment.
A medical staff member prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Tudor Ranch in Mecca, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Canada hits important target with 20 per cent of the eligible population now fully vaccinated
Canada hit a major milestone in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout on Saturday, with 20 per cent of the eligible population now fully vaccinated.
According to data collected by CTVNews.ca, 20 per cent of Canadians 12 years and older are now fully vaccinated, and nearly 75 per cent of the eligible population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
CTVNews.ca’s vaccine tracker uses updated population data supplied by provinces where available. The current calculations show 74.8 per cent of eligible populations have received at least one dose.
People wait in line to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Montreal, Saturday, June 19, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
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