COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Oct. 29, 2021

The Peace tower is seen on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• Santa Claus will be coming to Ottawa for a parade
• Ottawa paramedic charged with forging COVID-19 vaccination documents
• Public health officials urge caution as COVID-19 numbers hold steady in Ottawa
• City of Ottawa extends deadline for employees to get fully vaccinated

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 28 cases on Thursday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 30,784
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 18.5
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.6 per cent (seven-day average)
• Reproduction Number: 0.89 (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

Santa Claus will be coming to Ottawa for a parade

Santa Claus will likely be coming to town for a parade this holiday season now that the Ontario government has lifted capacity limits for organized outdoor events.

The regulatory amendments lift the capacity limits for all organized public events outdoors as long as attendees wear masks when a physical distance of two metres cannot be maintained.

While it’s too late for smaller communities to roll out floats in a Santa Claus Parade, organizers with the capital's two largest parades have joined forces to light up city streets.

"We hope to pull something together on short notice," says Bob Rainboth, chairman of Santa’s Parade of Lights. "We have a template in place and are prepared to provide to it to the city, with the new information, we plan on moving forward and are hoping to get into the community from the west to the east and not your traditional route."

Ottawa paramedic charged with forging COVID-19 vaccination documents

An Ottawa paramedic charged with using a fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine certificate in order to keep his job has been fired from the service.

In a statement on Thursday, Ottawa police said the man obtained his certificate by submitting forged documents and attesting he had received two vaccination doses from a provincial vaccine clinic.

The city of Ottawa informed police about the man’s fraudulent certificate last Thursday.

Ali Abdelgani, 30, was arrested Wednesday and charged with uttering a forged document, obtaining by false pretence and forgery.  City officials confirmed Thursday afternoon that the paramedic has been terminated from the Ottawa Paramedic Service.

COVID-19 indicators in Ottawa holding steady, but public health officials urge caution

Ottawa's associate medical officer of health is urging people not to let their guard down as the cold weather approaches.

Public health reported 28 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Thursday, and no new deaths linked to the virus.

As activities shift indoors, OPH is reminding people the pandemic is not over.

"As more restrictions are gradually lifted, it may be tempting to let our guards down. But let me be clear: the pandemic is not over," said Dr. Brent Moloughney.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

City of Ottawa extends deadline for employees to get fully vaccinated

City of Ottawa employees have an additional two weeks to get fully vaccinated, as the city extends the deadline for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in the workforce.

In a memo to council, City Manager Steve Kanellakos announced the deadline for compliance to the Mandatory Vaccination Policy has been extended from Nov. 1 to Nov. 15.

"While significant progress has been made on the implementation of this policy, with the majority of City staff reporting they are fully vaccinated, extending the deadline by two weeks will allow for follow-up with the employees who have not yet reported their status and ensure as many employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 as possible," said Kanellakos.

As of Thursday, 91.4 per cent of active city employees are fully vaccinated.  The city of Ottawa's current vaccination rate for residents 12 and older is 86 per cent.

Ottawa City Hall. (File photo)