OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Essential workers who cannot work from home and people with certain health conditions can book COVID-19 vaccine appointments as of 8 a.m. today.
- Ottawa Public Health reported its lowest one-day case count of the month on Monday.
- 46 per cent of all eligible adults in Ottawa have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to date.
- Medals honouring front-line workers, made by the Royal Canadian Mint, have raised more than $600,000 for healthy meals for kids.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 83 cases on Monday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 25,446
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 81.3
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 6.4 per cent (May 3 to May 9)
- 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 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 4 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)
- Southwest Ottawa COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Richmond Memorial Community Centre: Open Sunday, Monday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 12 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
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
Ontario vaccine rollout expands again today
Starting at 8 a.m., more Ontarians will be eligible to book their appointments for a COVID-19 vaccine today.
People with what the province considers to be "at-risk" health conditions, including dementia, diabetes, heart disease and other disabilities requiring direct support care in the community will be able to set up appointments using the provincial vaccination portal.
Also eligible today are workers in the second group of essential workers who cannot work from home, including grocery workers, public transit employees and other essential businesses and services where facilities are at heightened risk for COVID-19 outbreaks and spread.
Anyone 40 and older will be eligible to book a vaccine appointment starting at 8 a.m. Thursday.
Ottawa sees fewer than 100 new COVID-19 cases and two new deaths on Monday
Ottawa Public Health reported Monday that 83 more people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19 and two more people have died.
The new case count is the lowest so far this month, after OPH reported 94 cases on May 4. Daily case counts have otherwise been in the triple digits since late March.
According to Ottawa Public Health's COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 25,446 total laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the capital since the pandemic began. The two new deaths reported Monday bring the city's pandemic death toll to 525 residents.
Monday's snapshot from Ottawa Public Health also showed a decline in the number of COVID-19 patients in local hospitals and in the weekly testing positivity rate.
City ramps up vaccine delivery but pharmacy program slowing
Ottawa Public Health says the number of adults in Ottawa with at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose is approaching 50 per cent, despite a slowdown last week in the rate of vaccine delivery.
According to OPH's COVID-19 vaccination dashboard, 48,595 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered locally between May 2 and May 8, a decrease from the 51,285 shots administered the week prior.
Part of the reason is due to a decline in AstraZeneca shots being administered in local pharmacies. During the week of April 18, 20,356 doses of the AstraZenece vaccine were given to Ottawa residents. That fell to 13,552 doses the following week. Last week, that number fell again to 6,952.
The City of Ottawa and its hospital partners have administered 96 per cent of their vaccine inventory to date, according to OPH, which does not include the pharmacy rollout.
The number of adults 18 and older in the city with at least one dose has climbed to 46 per cent. To date, 390,725 people have received a COVID-19 vaccine and 28,325 people have had two.
Mint's medals honouring front-line workers raise $600,000
Over the past year, the Royal Canadian Mint has been printing a special medal dedicated to essential workers during the pandemic, and at the same time, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a great cause.
It’s called the 2020 Recognition Medal. And it's a chance to show appreciation for someone who has made a difference during these difficult times. The nickel-plated steel medal also includes a magnet, so it can be worn proudly by its recipient.
The medals cost $9.95 and, so far, the Mint has sold more than 90,000 of them, raising more than $600,000 dollars for the Breakfast Club of Canada, an organization that helps kids get healthy meals into their bellies.
The Mint will continue to offer the medals until the end of June.
