OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Ontario unveils three-step reopening plan to ease COVID-19 pandemic restrictions
- Ottawa's splash pads will remain closed until mid-June due to Ontario's COVID-19 reopening plan
- Ottawa's COVID-19 case count returns to double digits on Thursday
- Ottawa's tourism sector will take years to recover from pandemic, officials say
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 89 cases on Thursday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 26,357
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 60.9
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 6.0 per cent (May 12 to May 18)
- Reproduction Number: 0.90 (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 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)
- 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
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
What you need to know about the province's three-step reopening plan in Ottawa
Ontario has rolled out a three-step plan to reopen the province, starting with outdoor recreational amenities, as it gradually prepares to ease pandemic restrictions.
Each step is linked to COVID-19 vaccination rates, and other COVID-19 indicators.
Mayor Jim Watson calls the Ontario government's Roadmap to Reopen a "prudent approach" to reopening the economy.
"At the end of the day, we don't want to go back and turn the clock back to another lockdown. Obviously, very pleased that outdoor activities like basketball, tennis, golf, pickleball, skateboarding those can come back this weekend," said Watson during an interview on CTV News at Five with Matt Skube.
"Obviously, the sooner we start getting more people vaccinated, it's tied into this scaled plan, that we can actually get more of the businesses open."
Ottawa splash pads closed until mid-June under Ontario's three-step reopening plan
Mayor Jim Watson is calling on the Ontario government to reconsider the decision to not allow splash pads to open during the stay-at-home order.
The city began turning on the water at splash pads earlier this week, with all splash pads expected to be open ahead of the May long weekend.
Now, the splash pads must remain closed a few more weeks. Ontario's Roadmap to Reopen plan states outdoor pools, splash pads and wading pools cannot open until Ontario enters Step 1 of the reopening plan in June.
On Twitter, Watson called on Premier Doug Ford to keep the splash pads on.
"Please reconsider your decision to not allow splash pads to open at the same time as other outdoor activities like golf and basketball," Watson said in a tweet directed at the premier. "It's going to be over 30 degrees this long weekend."
Ottawa's COVID-19 case count returns to double digits on Thursday
Ottawa Public Health reported 89 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, the fifth time in six days Ottawa has seen double-digit case numbers.
No new deaths were reported in Ottawa on Thursday.
Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on March 11, 2020, there have been 26,357 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 539 deaths.
COVID-19 pandemic has cost Ottawa's tourism sector $2.6 billion
The COVID-19 pandemic has cost Ottawa's tourism industry $2.6 billion, the head of Ottawa Tourism said Thursday, warning it will take years for the sector to fully recover.
Ottawa Tourism President Michael Crockett expects that recovery will begin with a focus on staycations and regional travel.
"The necessity of being able to move around is certainly going to be a prerequisite for a full recovery of the tourism sector,” Crockett said on CTV Morning Live. “We will need people to be able to move within the province and hopefully from other provinces to our province as well."
