COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Oct. 19, 2021
Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Pfizer has officially asked Health Canada to approve its COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11.
- Ottawa surpassed a major vaccination milestone on Monday.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 41 cases on Monday.
- Total COVID-19 cases: 30,527
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 17.8
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.8 per cent (seven-day average)
- Reproduction Number: 0.93 (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
Pfizer officially requests Health Canada approval for kids' COVID-19 shot
Pfizer has asked Health Canada to approve the first COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11 years old.
As soon as the regulator gives the green light, providers will be able to start offering the COVID-19 shot to kids, though new child-sized doses might need to be procured.
The doses are about one-third the size given to adults and teens age 12 and up.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has also been tested on children as young as six months old. Topline data for children under five years old is expected as soon as the end of the year.
A dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is pictured at a vaccination site in Vancouver on Thursday, March 11, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Jonathan Hayward)
Ottawa hits major COVID-19 vaccination milestone
Ottawa has surpassed a major COVID-19 vaccination milestone.
Ottawa Public Health said on Monday that 90 per cent of residents who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines have received at least one dose.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches has regularly said the city is aiming for 90 per cent coverage among the eligible population in order to limit transmission of the deadly virus.
To date, nearly 827,000 people in Ottawa have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The push continues to get second doses into the remaining five per cent of individuals with at least one shot. So far, 85 per cent of residents born in or before 2009 are fully vaccinated.
Another 41 residents of Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19. To date, Ottawa has seen 30,527 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the city since the pandemic began. One new COVID-19 death was reported in Ottawa on Monday, bringing the city's pandemic death toll to 602.
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