OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- The chair of Ontario's council of medical officers of health says he expects kids could be back in school by next week.
- Ottawa Public Health reported its second day in a row of fewer than 50 new COVID-19 cases.
- The City of Ottawa says 27 confirmed cases of COVID-19 can be linked back to a city-run long-term care home.
- The Quebec government has announced indoor dining and gyms can reopen in Gatineau starting Monday.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 48 cases on Tuesday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 26,691
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 51.7
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 5.7 per cent (May 17 to May 23)
- 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
Announcement on Ontario schools 'imminent'
One of Ontario's top doctors is suggesting kids could be going back to school in the province before the end of the school year.
Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, the medical officer of health for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit and the chair of the Council of Medical Officers of Health, told Newstalk 580 CFRA's "Ottawa at Work with Leslie Roberts" on Tuesday that he's spoken with Premier Doug Ford about the return to class.
"I'm not ruling out schools coming back May 31," he said.
Roumeliotis suspects the province will announce a regional plan for returning students to school.
Fewer than 50 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Ottawa for second day in a row
Ottawa Public Health said on Tuesday that 48 more people in Ottawa had tested positive for COVID-19 and two more people had died.
It was the second day in a row that OPH reported fewer than 50 new cases, after the health unit added 43 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the lowest daily case count locally since March 9.
The new cases brought Ottawa's pandemic total to 26,691 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the first case was confirmed on March 11, 2020. 558 residents have died.
Daily case counts in Ottawa have been steadily dropping throughout May, after peaking in mid-April, however, the number of reported deaths due to COVID-19 is on the rise, with 51 reported so far this month, compared to 41 in April.
27 cases of COVID-19 found at city-run Champlain long-term care home
The City of Ottawa says it has confirmed 27 cases of COVID-19 at the Centre d'accueil Champlain, a city-run long-term care home.
In a memo sent Tuesday afternoon, community and social services general manger Donna Gray said the city received confirmation that two additional residents, eleven employees and three visitors at the home have tested positive for COVID-19.
The home remains on facility-wide outbreak, which was first declared May 19.
Gray said 17 staff, seven residents and three visitors at Centre d'accueil Champlain have tested positive for COVID-19.
Indoor dining and gyms reopening in Outaouais on Monday
The Quebec government says the Outaouais region is one eight regions in the province that will move to the "orange" zone on Monday, as COVID-19 pandemic measures continue to loosen in the province.
Quebec announced 346 new cases of COVID-19 province-wide on Tuesday, with 16 in the Outaouais region, which includes Gatineau.
In a statement Tuesday, the regional health unit, the CISSS de l'Outaouais said the area would move to the Level 3 or "orange" zone as of 12:01 a.m. May 31 because of the "improved epidemiological situation."
This will allow restaurants to reopen their dining rooms with strict conditions, gyms to open for workouts, churches and other places of worship to offer services to up to 100 people (funerals are still capped at 25 people), and the return of full-time classes for secondary students, instead of every other day.
Other measures will ease before the region moves to the orange zone. Starting this Friday, the nightly curfew will officially end, restaurant patios will be able to reopen, and small outdoor gatherings of up to eight people will be allowed.
