COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Nov. 8, 2021

Downtown Ottawa on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• U.S. land border opens to non-essential Canadian travellers
• 53 unvaccinated employees placed on unpaid leave by the Ottawa Carleton District School Board
• One new COVID-19 death reported in Ottawa on Sunday

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 46 cases on Sunday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 31,092
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 21.5
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.7 per cent (seven-day average)
• Reproduction Number: 1.17 (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

Here's what Ottawa, eastern Ontario travellers need to know about U.S. land border crossing requirements

The U.S. land border is open for non-essential, fully vaccinated Canadian travellers to cross today for the first time in 19 months.

The United States has opened its land and sea borders to fully vaccinated travellers.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says fully vaccinated, non-citizen travellers at U.S. land ports of entry or a ferry terminal should be prepared to:

• Provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination
• Verbally attest to their reason for travel and COVID-19 vaccination status during a border inspection

The Canada Border Services Agency says border measures remain in place for travellers entering or returning to Canada.

Fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada must complete the mandatory pre-arrival molecular COVID-19 test and submit their mandatory information including their digital proof of vaccination through the ArriveCan app or website within 72 hours before arriving in Canada.

The Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

53 unvaccinated employees placed on unpaid leave by Ottawa's public school board

Fifty-three employees are on unpaid leave at Ottawa's public school board for violating its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.

The Ottawa Carleton District School Board says 23 of the 53 employees suspended for not being vaccinated are teachers in elementary and secondary schools.

In September, trustees approved a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for all teachers and staff members in OCDSB schools.

As of Oct. 15, 92 per cent of the board's 11,932 employees have attested to being fully vaccinated with supporting documentation. Seventy-five employees have attested to being fully vaccinated without providing documentation.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. (Tyler Fleming / CTV News Ottawa)

One new COVID-19 death reported in Ottawa on Sunday

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

A man 90 years of age or older passed away from the virus.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa in March 2020, there have been 31,092 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 605 deaths.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram