OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Ottawa's testing positivity rate climbed to its highest level since January.
- Residents trying to book COVID-19 vaccine appointments through Ontario's online system encountered trouble on Monday.
- Ottawa Public Health is opening pop-up clinics for residents in rural parts of the city.
- An Ottawa school that was closed temporarily due to a COVID-19 related staffing shortage will reopen today.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 81 new cases on Monday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 16,188
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 55.2
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 3.9 per cent (Mar. 15 to Mar. 21)
- Reproduction Number: 1.07 (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 Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Friday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- COVID-19 Drive-thru assessment centre at National Arts Centre: 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.
- 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.
Vaccine eligibility screening tool:
To check and see if you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Ottawa, click here.
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's testing positivity rate climbs to nearly four per cent
Ottawa Public Health is reporting a significant jump in the COVID-19 testing positivity rate in the city.
In their updated report on the COVID-19 dashboard on Monday, Ottawa Public Health noted that the average testing positivity rate rose to 3.9 per cent for the week of March 15 to 21, which is up from 2.9 per cent for the week of March 12 to 18. The last time the positivity rate was above 3 per cent was late January.
OPH said 81 more people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the city's pandemic total to 16,188 laboratory-confirmed cases since the first case was announced on March 11, 2020.
Two more people in Ottawa have died of COVID-19. The city's death toll from the pandemic now stands at 456 residents.
Another glitch using the provincial vaccine booking portal
Ontario's Ministry of Health says it is aware that some residents have had trouble booking COVID-19 vaccine appointments through the province's online booking system.
Several residents told CTV News Ottawa they tried to book their first and second appointments, but were unable to progress through the online form because there was no way to book a second dose appointment.
The Ministry of Health tells CTV News Ottawa in an email Monday afternoon that it is aware of the issue and working to fix it but did not say when the issue might be resolved.
This came as residents born in or before 1946 became eligible to book appointments.
Last Monday, there were technical issues for part of the day where people trying to book online would get an error message and where people calling on the phone were being redirected to Ottawa Public Health. The province announced later in the afternoon that the issues had been resolved.
Ottawa Public Health opening pop-up vaccination clinics in rural communities
New City-run pop-up clinics for COVID-19 vaccines are opening in rural wards of Ottawa and eligible residents may start booking vaccine appointments.
If you are age 75 or over (born in or before 1946) or an adult recipient of chronic home care, and you live in a rural community, you will be able to book your appointment at a pop-up clinic by calling 613-691-5505.
The communities in question are Ward 5 (West Carleton-March), Ward 19 (Cumberland), Ward 20 (Osgoode), and Ward 21 (Rideau-Goulbourn).
To confirm that you are eligible for vaccination, please see the COVID-19 Eligibility Screening Tool.
Additionally, vaccine appointments are now available for all Indigenous adults in Ottawa born in or before 1981.
Pleasant Park school set to reopen after temporary staffing shortage from self-isolating staff
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board says it had to close one of its schools temporarily on Monday because of a shortage of staff due to COVID-19.
In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, the school board said several staff at Pleasant Park Public School were told to self-isolate as part of a contact tracing investigation and the board could not get replacement staff in on short notice. The school is set to reopen Tuesday.
The OCDSB's COVID-19 dashboard lists four active student cases of COVID-19 at Pleasant Park Public School. There are no active staff cases at the school listed on the board's website. Ottawa Public Health is not reporting an active COVID-19 outbreak at the school at this time.
