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

Fast Facts:

  • Ottawa Public Health reports 46 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Saturday, one new death linked to the virus
  • Asymptomatic students and staff at Manordale Public School can receive a voluntary COVID-19 test today
  • A University of Ottawa epidemiologist suggests the goal to vaccinate half of Canadians by next September "may be reasonable"
  • The Eastern Ontario Health Unit says sitting on Santa's lap is banned this holiday season due to COVID-19

Testing:

Who should get a test?

Ottawa Public Health says there are four reasons to seek testing for COVID-19:

  • You are showing COVID-19 symptoms. OR
  • 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. OR
  • You are a resident or work in a setting that has a COVID-19 outbreak, as identified and informed by Ottawa Public Health. OR
  • You are eligible for testing as part of a targeted testing initiative directed by the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Long-Term Care.

Where to get tested for COVID-19 in Ottawa:

The COVID-19 Assessment Centre at 151 Brewer Way is open seven days a week. Appointments are required in most cases but LIMITED walk-up capacity is available.

To book a test for an adult, click here.

The CHEO Assessment Centre at Brewer Arena – 151 Brewer Way is open seven days a week. Testing is available by appointment only.

To book a test for a child under the age of 18, click here.

The COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre at 595 Moodie Dr. is open from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. The centre offers an appointment with a physician (including appropriate tests) for residents who are experiencing more significant symptoms like fever, difficulty breathing or a sore throat, or testing only for residents with mild symptoms or others who qualify for testing under current guidelines.

To book an appointment, click here. 

The COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre at 1485 Heron Rd. is open from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. The centre offers an appointment with a physician (including appropriate tests) for residents who are experiencing more significant symptoms like fever, difficulty breathing or a sore throat, or testing only for residents with mild symptoms or others who qualify for testing under current guidelines.

To book an appointment, click here.

The COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre at the Ray Friel Recreation Complex – 1585 Tenth Line Rd. is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It offers an appointment with a physician (including appropriate tests) for residents who are experiencing more significant symptoms like fever, difficulty breathing or a sore throat, or testing only for residents with mild symptoms or others who qualify for testing under current guidelines.

To book an appointment, click here.

The COVID-19 drive-thru assessment centre at the National Arts Centre. The centre is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

To book an appointment, click here.

The COVID-19 Assessment Centre at the McNabb Community Centre, located at 180 Percy Street, is open Monday to Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

To book an appointment, click here.

The Centretown Community Health Centre at 420 Cooper St. offers COVID-19 testing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. To book an appointment, call 613-789-1500 or book an appointment online

The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre at 221 Nelson St. offers COVID-19 testing from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.  Click here to book an appointment or call 613-789-1500

The Somerset Community Health Centre at 55 Eccles St. will offer COVID-19 testing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday. To book an appointment, call 613-789-1500 or book an appointment online.

See here for a list of other testing sites in Ottawa and eastern Ontario.

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 swallow, 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

Ottawa Public Health removes two deaths from pandemic death toll; 1 new death, 46 new cases reported

Ottawa Public Health reported 46 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Saturday, along with one new death linked to the virus.

Since the first case of COVID-19, there have been 8,379 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 372 deaths.

Ottawa Public Health reported a decline in the number of COVID-19 deaths in the capital, after an investigation showed a link could not be proven in two cases.

In a statement on its COVID-19 dashboard, OPH said, "Following case investigation, two deaths could not be confirmed to be related to COVID-19. As such, these deaths were removed from the dashboard."

 

Ontario records more than 1,800 new cases of COVID-19 for second straight day, 29 more deaths

Ontario reported more than 1,800 new cases of COVID-19 for a second straight day.

The 1,822 new cases represent a slight decrease from Friday’s total when a record-breaking 1,855 infections were logged.

Ontario’s COVID-19 case total now stands at 113,038.

COVID-19 in Ottawa

Students, staff at Ottawa school to receive asymptomatic COVID-19 tests this weekend

Asymptomatic Students and staff at a west-end elementary school can receive a voluntary COVID-19 test today.

An on-site mobile testing clinic will be held at Manordale Public School for families of students and staff.

The Ottawa Carleton District School Board says the school was selected as part of a follow-up to a partial COVID-19 outbreak at the school.

The Ontario Government announced Thursday that "targeted voluntary testing" of asymptomatic students and staff will be carried out at schools in areas with high active cases of COVID-19.

OCDSB Generic

'Everything is looking good' for COVID-19 vaccine, but steps remain: uOttawa infectious disease specialist

A University of Ottawa infectious disease specialist suggests the prime minister's goal to vaccinate a majority of Canadians by next September "may be reasonable" given there are several COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

As the premiers urge the federal government to provide timelines on when a COVID-19 vaccine will be available to the provinces, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his target is to immunize more than half of all Canadians by September, 2021.

"That may be optimistic, but that may be reasonable given that we've got three vaccine candidates," said Dr. Earl Brown, a former member of the H1N1 vaccine task group in Canada.

"The fact is there is no vaccine; a vaccine is a medicine, which is licenced for use in Canada on humans and it would have a drug number.  Nothing like that exists. Now, maybe it will in a week, two weeks, a month, a few weeks."

During an interview on CTV News at Six with anchor Stefan Keyes, Dr. Brown said there are three very "promising" vaccine candidates, based on the press releases and published phase one and two trials.

"Everything is looking good, but you really have to know that you've got a vaccine that's passed muster, and we don't know that yet. So we can't count our chickens before they hatch." 

COVID-19 vaccine generic

Sitting on Santa's lap banned in eastern Ontario due to COVID-19

Wear a mask, but don't sit on Santa's lap due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit has released guidelines for visiting Santa Claus this holiday season.

"This holiday season, we recommend visiting Santa and the other North Pole residents virtually," said the Eastern Ontario Health Unit on its website.

If you do choose to have your children visit Santa in person, the Eastern Ontario Health Unit says, "Sitting on Santa's lap is not permitted this year."

Will COVID-19 affect Santa Claus' visit?