COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for May 30, 2021

OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.

Fast Facts:

• Ontario extends interprovincial travel restrictions at Ottawa-Gatineau crossings until June 16
• Ontario's COVID-19 science table says schools can reopen safely on a regional basis
• Ottawa's COVID-19 case numbers returned to double-digits on Saturday following Friday's spike
• 71 tickets issued for illegal gatherings at private residences in Ottawa during the stay-at-home order
• Health Canada extends shelf life of AstraZenca doses set to expire on Monday by a month

COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):

• New COVID-19 cases: 61 on Saturday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 26,967
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days):  43.9
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 5.0 per cent (May 21 to May 27)
• Reproduction Number: 0.94 (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

Ontario's extends interprovincial travel restrictions at Ottawa-Gatineau crossings until June 16

Ontario is extending the interprovincial travel restrictions at Ontario-Quebec crossings at least two more weeks.

The move means motorists driving into Ottawa from Gatineau will continue to see police checkpoints at the interprovincial crossings until at least June 16.

The checkpoints have cost the Ottawa Police Service approximately $600,000 since they were first set up six weeks ago.

The Ontario government has announced an extension of certain orders under its Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act until at least June 16, including the ban on recreational interprovincial border crossings.

Schools can reopen safely on a regional basis, Ontario's COVID-19 science table says

Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table is recommending schools reopen on a regional basis before the end of the school year.

The science table says it believes schools can reopen on a regional basis without risking the province's progress of driving down virus spread during the third wave of the pandemic.

Premier Doug Ford asked medical experts and education sector unions for "input on the possible safe return to schools" by the end of day Friday.

COVID-19 cases in Ottawa back in double-digits

Ottawa Public Health reported 61 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Saturday, and one new death linked to the virus.

It's a drop from the 107 new cases reported on Friday, the highest figure locally in nine days.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on March 11, 2020, there have been 26,979 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 567 deaths.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

71 tickets issued for illegal gatherings at private residences in Ottawa during current stay-at-home order

Ottawa Bylaw officers have issued dozens of tickets for illegal private gatherings, non-essential businesses staying open and for violations in Ottawa parks during the current COVID-19 shutdown and stay-at-home order.

Since the Ontario government imposed the shutdown on Ottawa April 3, Ottawa Bylaw officers have issued 163 tickets for contraventions of Provincial Orders and the Health Protection and Promotion Act.

According to statistics provided to CTV News Ottawa, Ottawa Bylaw officers have issued 71 tickets for illegal gatherings at private residences since April 3. The fine for a gathering at a private residence is $880 under Ontario's COVID-19 rules.  

Bylaw officers have issued 43 tickets in Ottawa parks since April 27 for Section 22 violations.

Health Canada extends shelf life of AstraZeneca doses set to expire Monday by a month

Health Canada has extended the expiry date of roughly 45,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses.

The doses were supposed to expire on Monday, but the federal agency extended the expiry date by a month.

“Vaccine doses with an original expiry date of May 31, 2021 can now be used until July 1, 2021,” a spokesperson from the Ministry of Health said in a statement.