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 in two-and-a-half months on Tuesday.
- All available vaccine appointments in Ottawa were snatched up quickly Tuesday morning as the provine expanded its booking eligibility to anyone 18 and older.
- Ontario will scrap its colour-coded system when it launches its new economic reopening plan.
- Quebec will soon end its curfew and allow restaurants and bars to reopen.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 50 cases on Tuesday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 26,161
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 63.0
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 5.3 per cent (May 10 to May 16)
- Reproduction Number: 0.88 (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
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
COVID-19 cases at their lowest since early March
Ottawa's daily COVID-19 case count on Tuesday is the lowest it has been in 10 weeks.
Ottawa Public Health is reporting 50 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the lowest daily figure since March 9, when 40 cases were reported.
Two new deaths were also announced on Tuesday along with 107 newly resolved cases.
Case counts are typically lower on Tuesdays than other days of the week, usually because of lower testing figures coming out of the weekend. However, the number of new cases each Tuesday has also been dropping. Ontario reported 2,791 new cases on May 4 and 2,073 new cases on May 11. The same trend holds true locally, with 94 new cases on May 4 and 67 on May 11.
Ottawa has so far seen 26,161 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 538 resident deaths since the pandemic began.
Vaccine appointments snatched up quickly as province throws wide the gates
All adults in Ottawa are now eligible to book COVID-19 vaccines at mass immunization clinics but Ottawa Public Health says all available appointments for the time being have been booked.
The provincial portal opened to anyone born in or before 2003 at 8 a.m. Tuesday. By 10:30 a.m., Ottawa Public Health said there were no more local appointments available.
The City only opens vaccine appointments when they know they have vaccine supply in hand. More appointments are expected to be made available the week of May 31.
Colour-coded framework being scrapped from Ontario's next reopening plan
Ontario won't have a colour-coded framework in its next reopening plan.
The premier's office confirmed to Toronto's CP24 on Tuesday that the familiar green, yellow, orange, red, and grey system will not be used when Ontario decides to lift the current stay-at-home order.
What will replace the old framework has yet to be announced, but Health Minister Christine Elliott says the province's reopening plan will be announced "very soon."
Quebec dropping the curfew and reopening restaurants and bars soon
Quebec Premier François Legault laid out his province's reopening plan Tuesday, saying he will end the nightly curfew and move most regions into looser restrictions, allowing restaurants and bars to reopen.
The nightly curfew will end province-wide on May 28, restaurant patios will be allowed to reopen and people will be able to have small gatherings of up to eight in their back yards.
As of May 31, he believes the "vast majority" of regions in the province will move to the "orange" or "level 3" zone, which would allow for indoor dining, among other things. By June 14, Legault expects to move regions to the "yellow" or "level 2" zone, allowing bars to operate again and loosening restrictions on sports.
