COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Nov. 3, 2021

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• One new COVID-19 related death was reported in Ottawa on Tuesday.
• Quebec plans to lift several COVID-19 restrictions in mid-November.
• Ottawa Public Health has laid out its plan to vaccinate children 5 to 11, once approved.
• With fewer restrictions, experts are expecting a busy flu season and vaccines are now available.

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 20 cases on Tuesday.
• Total COVID-19 cases: 30,903
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 16.8
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.5 per cent (seven-day average)
• Reproduction Number: 0.99 (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. 
• 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

Ottawa Public Health reports one new COVID-19 death, 20 new cases

Ottawa Public Health is reporting one new death from COVID-19.

The death, a woman in her 80s, is the city's first from the virus in more than a week, and brings the total COVID-19 death toll in Ottawa to 604.

The health unit is reporting 20 new cases of the virus on Tuesday, bringing the pandemic total to 30,903 cases since March 2020. The daily case count in the city has stayed below 30 since Oct. 18, when 36 new cases were reported.

Active cases have also fallen again, to 188.

Provincewide, officials reported 331 new cases and seven additional deaths on Tuesday.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Quebec to ease restrictions on dancing, karaoke, telework and more as of Nov. 15

Dancing and singing is coming back to bars in Quebec on Nov. 15 as the province lifts more of its COVID-19 restrictions.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé made the announcement during a news conference Tuesday.

Dance floors will reopen for the first time since March 2020. Also joining dancers will be karaoke singers, who will have to follow some restrictions around distancing and mask use.

The vaccine passport in Quebec will remain mandatory. It will also be used at ski hills this winter, which officials say will allow ski lifts to operate at full capacity and lodges to reopen.

In Ontario, capacity limits on nightclubs will lift on Nov. 15.

How Ottawa Public Health plans to vaccinate 77,000 children against COVID-19

Ottawa Public Health officials say they will be able to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to all children aged five to 11 within four weeks of getting provincial approval.

The health unit outlined its strategy for vaccinating about 77,000 children in that age group, expected to become eligible for the shot in the coming weeks, at a board of health meeting this week.

Mass immunization clinics will scale up to seven across the city, open seven days a week. Parents will be able to book appointments for their children at those clinics through the provincial booking system.

Officials are also planning school pop-up clinics after school hours; an average of 25 per week. Those will start no more than a week after the vaccine is approved for children.

There will also be 10 additional neighbourhood hubs.

Ottawa Public Health-led clinics will be able to administer more than 36,000 doses per week. The goal, Turcotte said, is to reach a 90 per cent vaccination rate.

A vaccine is shown in the hands of a health care professional. (Getty Images)

Ottawa pharmacies and clinics roll out flu shot ahead of expected busy season

The peak of flu season is only weeks away and pharmacies and clinics are working hard to get as many shots in arms as possible.

Health experts say the flu season could return with a vengeance because there are fewer COVID-19 restrictions this year compared to last, when there was little flu activity.

Some pharmacies are seeing a supply issue with the high-dose formula of the flu shot meant for seniors and those with health complications. Experts say it’s still better to get the regular dose, which is very effective, rather than waiting for the high-dose shot and possibly catching the flu.

CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, Justin Bates, says so far, the flu vaccine rollout has been a success in Ontario.

“We’ve administered approximately 500,000 through pharmacy, flu shots so far,” says Bates. “Which is a good pace if you look at last year we did just under two million for the entire season.”

Ottawa Public Health's community flu clinics start Tuesday with four locations available right now in Ottawa. They are by appointment only and are eligible to Ottawa residents who meet a certain criteria:

•  People six months to two years of age and their household members;
•  Newcomers to Canada;
•  Those without an Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP card);
•  Those without a primary care provider, such as a doctor or nurse; and
•  Those who have had difficulty accessing the vaccine at a pharmacy

You can find more information about Ottawa Public Health's community clinics here.

Heidi Gabriel preparing a flu shot in her pharmacy, Gabriel Drugs. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)