OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- The number of known active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa is back below 2,000.
- There were more COVID-19 cases reported in Ottawa last month than in the first seven months of the pandemic.
- Ontario reached a record high 900 ICU patients with COVID-19 on Saturday.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 156 on Saturday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 24,344
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 120.3
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 7.6 per cent (April 23 to April 29)
- 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 Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 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 and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (testing only)
- COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Howard Darwin Centennial Arena: Open daily 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
- Southwest Ottawa COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Richmond Memorial Community Centre: Open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 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
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
Active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa drop below 2000
Ottawa Public Health is reporting 156 more people in the city have tested positive for COVID-19 and three more people have died.
According to Ottawa Public Health's COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 24,344 total laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began and 507 people have lost their lives to the disease.
Ottawa Public Health also reported 281 newly resolved cases in the city, bringing the number of people with known active cases down below 2,000 for the first time since April 8.
April sees more COVID-19 cases than first seven months of pandemic
April 2021 saw more confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ottawa than any other month of the pandemic to date and nearly matched the number of total cases reported from March through October of 2020.
According to data from Ottawa Public Health, 6,934 cases of COVID-19 were reported in the month of April. The previous monthly high was 3,307 cases reported in January 2021.
It took until Oct. 31, 2020 for Ottawa to see its first 7,000 cases of COVID-19, after the first case was confirmed on March 11.
The deaths of 41 residents of Ottawa from COVID-19 reported this past April make it the deadliest month of 2021, and the third deadliest month of the pandemic overall after May 2020's 168 COVID-19 deaths and November's 48 deaths.
The latest wave of COVID-19 in Ottawa was due in large part to variants of concern (VOCs), which increased sharply. At the beginning of the month, OPH said it was aware of 596 cases of COVID-19 that were identified as a known VOC or had a genetic mutation. That number would climb to 4,899 by the end of the month. According to data from Public Health Ontario, between half and two thirds of all COVID-19 cases in Ottawa were tested for mutations or VOCs.
Ontario hits record high level of COVID-19 patients in intensive care
Public Health Ontario reported more than 3,300 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday as the number of patients in intensive care hit a new record high.
For the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, patients admitted to intensive care units due to COVID-19 has hit 900. That is up from the 883 patients on Thursday. There are 30 Ottawa residents in ICU.
The province reported 3,369 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, along with 3,964 newly resolved cases. Another 29 Ontarians have died of COVID-19.
