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COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Oct. 28, 2021

A cyclist makes their way along the banks of the Ottawa River in Ottawa on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS) A cyclist makes their way along the banks of the Ottawa River in Ottawa on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
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OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

  • Seven Ottawa neighbourhoods have over 90 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated
  • Mayor, councillors urge Ottawa police to revisit COVID-19 vaccination policy
  • Unvaccinated people attending a sports game and a party lead to more than 240 high-risk COVID-19 contacts
  • Ottawa sees 27 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday

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

  • New COVID-19 cases: 27 cases on Wednesday
  • Total COVID-19 cases: 30,756
  • COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 17.9
  • Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.6 per cent (seven-day average)
  • Reproduction Number: 0.88 (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.  Saturday, Oct. 30 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • The Ray Friel Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31 from 9 a.m. to 1 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

Seven Ottawa neighbourhoods surpass 90 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated

Seven Ottawa neighbourhoods have surpassed the Ottawa Public Health target of 90 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

As of Wednesday, 86 per cent of Ottawa residents 12 and older have received two shots of COVID-19 vaccine and are considered fully vaccinated. Ninety per cent of residents have received at least one shot.

According to the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study, the following neighbourhoods have at least 90 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated.

  • Vars – 103.7 per cent
  • Cumberland – 96 per cent
  • Richmond – 92.8 per cent
  • Edwards – Carlsbad Springs – 92.1 per cent
  • Stittsville – 91.7 per cent
  • Riverside South – Leitrim – 90.6 per cent
  • Cityview-Crestview-Meadowlands – 90.2 per cent

Health-care worker Thi Nguyen administers Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a COVID-19 clinic in Ottawa on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Mayor, councillors urge Ottawa police to revisit COVID-19 vaccination policy

The Ottawa Police Service is under fire for its COVID-19 vaccination policy, which doesn't require officers and civilians to be fully vaccinated to attend work.

Under the policy released last Friday, unvaccinated members must provide a negative COVID-19 test result every 72 hours.

Mayor Jim Watson is calling on police to revisit the policy.

"I don't support what the Ottawa police have done. They are an independent organization and have their own board, but I think we all have to practise what we preach," said Watson after Wednesday's council meeting.  "We are out there telling people to get double vaccinated, or they risk losing their jobs at the city of Ottawa. It’s not a frivolous thing that we are engaged in, it is a serious matter."

Sports game, party lead to more than 240 high-risk COVID-19 contacts

Ottawa Public Health says two unvaccinated people attending a sporting event and a social gathering last month led to at least 37 people testing positive for COVID-19, hundreds of high-risk contacts and the closure of an elementary school.

Here’s how it happened, according to OPH:

  • One person with COVID-19 played an organized outdoor sports game. They developed symptoms of COVID-19 the next day, but delayed testing and attended a social gathering and school while experiencing symptoms
  • Another person with COVID-19 symptoms attended a social event with players who participated in the sports game.
  • Both people delayed testing after developing symptoms, and neither person was vaccinated against COVID-19, Ottawa Public Health says.

Everyone who tested positive for COVID-19 had not been fully vaccinated against the virus, even though they all were eligible.

Twenty-six people had tested positive by Sept. 23. By Sept. 30, 11 more people had tested positive.

This graphic by Ottawa Public Health illustrates a real-world example of COVID-19 community transmission and contact tracing. (Ottawa Public Health)

Ottawa sees 27 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday

Ottawa Public Health reported 27 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Wednesday.

Fourteen of the 27 new cases involved residents under the age of 20.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in March 2020, there have been 30,756 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 603 deaths.

 

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