COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Nov. 1, 2021

Two people make their way up a painted staircase in Ottawa on Monday, July 19, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• Unvaccinated Ottawa Hospital employees face unpaid leave today for violating the COVID-19 vaccination policy
• Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa drop below 200
• International flights resume at the Ottawa International Airport for the first time since the start of the pandemic

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 22 cases on Sunday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 30,854
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 14.5
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.4 per cent (seven-day average)
• 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 are a patient and/or their 1 accompanying escort tra­velling out of country for medical treatment;
• 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.

Long-term care staff, caregivers, volunteers and visitors who are fully immunized against COVID-19 are not required to present a negative COVID-19 test before entering or visiting a long-term care home.

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

• COVID-19 Assessment Centre at McNabb Arena at 180 Percy St.: Open Monday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• 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 5:30 p.m. The drive-thru assessment closes on Saturday.
• The Moodie Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 
• The Ray Friel Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• 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 schools in Ottawa and eastern Ontario. All students, teachers and school staff must complete the COVID-19 School screening tool daily.

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

Deadline for Ottawa Hospital employees to be vaccinated

Unvaccinated Ottawa Hospital employees will be placed on unpaid leave today for violating the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.

The Ottawa Hospital's mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy takes effect on Nov. 1, requiring all doctors, nurses and hospital staff to be fully vaccinated against novel coronavirus.

On Oct. 21, CTV News Ottawa reported more than 300 employees would be placed on unpaid leave for violating the policy as of Nov. 1. The hospital sent 189 letters to employees who hadn't received the vaccine, and 129 employees who received one dose of the vaccine, but did not have their second dose scheduled by Nov. 1.

The letter said employees would have to return all hospital property, including employee ID cards and keys.

The Ottawa Civic hospital is seen Tuesday January 7, 2020 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Cleared for takeoff! International flights resume at Ottawa International Airport

International flights resumed at the Ottawa International Airport on Sunday for the first time since the spring of 2020.

"We were pretty pumped to welcome our first cross-border flight in 19 months today," said the Ottawa Airport in a message on Twitter.

Flair Airlines flight 8334 departed Ottawa for Fort Lauderdale, Fla. at 7 a.m., the first international flight out of the Ottawa International Airport since the COVID-19 pandemic brought travel to a halt at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Flair Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale landed at the Ottawa Airport at 2:30 p.m.  

United Airlines, Sunwing and WestJet will add flights to the U.S. and warm destinations in November.

Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa drop below 200; hospitalizations up

Ottawa Public Health reported 22 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday, while the number of active cases dropped below 200 for the first time since August.

There are 197 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in March 2020, there have been 30,854 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 603 deaths.

There are now 11 people in hospital, including two in the ICU.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram