OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Outdoor recreational amenities reopen in Ottawa as Ontario relaxes some COVID-19 restrictions during the stay-at-home order
- Province to allow Ottawa splash pads to stay open
- COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expands to Ottawa residents 12 and older on Sunday
- Six more Ottawa residents die due to COVID-19
- Police checkpoints to limit non-essential travel will continue at Ottawa-Gatineau crossings
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 68 cases on Friday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 26,425
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 58.2
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 5.5 per cent (May 14 to May 20)
- 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 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
Golf courses, tennis courts and other outdoor amenities reopen in Ottawa as Ontario relaxes restrictions
Ontario is easing the restrictions on outdoor activities, allowing outdoor recreational amenities to reopen during the stay-at-home order.
Ontario says due to the continuing success of the vaccine rollout and the "collective efforts of Ontarians" in following public health measures, the province is relaxing restrictions for outdoor recreational amenities.
As of May 22 at 12:01 a.m., the following outdoor recreational amenities are allowed to open
- Splash and spray pads
- Golf courses and driving ranges
- Parks and recreational areas
- Baseball diamonds
- Batting cages
- Soccer, football and sports fields
- Tennis, table tennis and pickleball courts
- Basketball courts
- BMX and skate parks
- Horse riding facilities
- Shooting ranges
- Lawn bowling and bocce courts
Ontario says boat and watercraft launches are also allowed to reopen across Ontario.
Province to allow Ottawa splash pads to stay open
Splash pads are on at all city of Ottawa parks for the long weekend.
The province said Thursday that splash pads would not be allowed to open until mid-June. However, that decision is being reversed after backlash from several mayors, including Ottawa mayor Jim Watson.
In a statement Friday afternoon, the Premier's office confirmed splash pads will be allowed to open, like other outdoor recreational amenities reopening across the province.
There are 145 splash pads in Ottawa. Watson says 137 will be opened by this weekend, and the remaining eight have damage or maintenance issues that will be addressed.
COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expands to Ottawa residents 12 and older on Sunday
Mayor Watson predicts there will be a "level of frustration" in Ottawa this weekend as Ontario expands eligibility to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Ontario government has announced as of 8 a.m. Sunday, May 23, youth aged 12 and older across Ontario will be eligible to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment through the provincial booking system and call centre. Appointments can also be booked at select pharmacies administering the Pfizer vaccine.
"The short answer is we don't have enough vaccines," said Watson during an interview on CTV News at Six Friday evening.
Ontario expanded the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility on Tuesday to all residents aged 18 and older. Within three hours of the eligibility expanding to all adults, more than 40,000 appointments were booked for city of Ottawa clinics and all available appointments were filled until the end of June.
Six more deaths linked to COVID-19 in Ottawa, 68 new cases on Friday
Ottawa Public Health reported six more Ottawa residents have died due to COVID-19, the highest single-day increase in reported deaths in the capital since mid-January.
No other information has been released about the deaths.
Sixty-eight new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Ottawa on Friday.
Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on March 11, 2020, there have been 26,425 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 545 deaths.
Police checkpoints to limit non-essential travel will continue at Ottawa-Gatineau crossings
Police will continue to set up checkpoints at Ottawa-Gatineau interprovincial crossings to limit non-essential trips during the May long weekend.
Both Ottawa police and Gatineau police told CTV News Ottawa that officers will continue random checkpoints at the five bridges and ferry crossings to limit non-essential trips until the Ontario and Quebec governments issue new directives for travel.
