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

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• Three Ottawa neighbourhoods have 90 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated
• Ottawa's top doctor says trick-or-treaters can 'enjoy' Halloween this year
• 26 of the 62 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Saturday involve residents under the age of 20

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 62 cases on Saturday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 29,953
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 33.7
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 2.1 per cent (seven-day average)
• Reproduction Number: 0.94 (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

• Temporary Pop-Up Testing COVID-19 Assessment at McNabb Arena on Percy Street: Open daily 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 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. Open Sunday, Oct. 3 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

Three Ottawa neighbourhoods have 90 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated

Three Ottawa neighbourhoods have at least 90 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as the city of Ottawa continues to inch closer to its vaccination goal.

Ottawa Public Health has set a target of 90 per cent fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

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

• Vars – 100.2 per cent fully vaccinated
• Cumberland – 93.5 per cent fully vaccinated
• Richmond – 90 per cent fully vaccinated

There are 11 Ottawa neighbourhoods with fewer than 70 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated. Ledbury-Heron Gate-Ridgemont has the lowest rate of full vaccination in Ottawa, at 61.7 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)

Ottawa's top doctor says trick-or-treaters can 'enjoy' Halloween this year

Ghosts and goblins have the green light to roam the streets of Ottawa on Halloween, after trick-or-treating was cancelled last year due to COVID-19.

"Yes, I think people can enjoy Halloween this year. Thanks to everyone going out to be vaccinated we aren't seeing the serious illness in the adult population," said Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa's medical officer of health.

"Just encourage people now and as we go through Halloween to choose those lower-risk options. So outdoors, you know distanced from others those are good choices compared to indoors without masks, that kind of choice we encourage people to avoid."

Infectious Disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch says Halloween is "about as safe as you can get" since it's outdoors.

"Outside is much, much safer than indoors we know that. Obviously, if you’re in a massive crowd it’s not ideal, but there’s things you can do. You can put a mask on and you can try to separate from other people," said Bogoch.

A jack-o'-lantern dons a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.

62 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Saturday

Twenty-six of the 62 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Saturday involved residents under the age of 20.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa in March 2020, there have been 29,953 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 596 deaths.

The 62 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Saturday follows 61 new cases on Friday.

Across Ontario, there were 704 new cases of COVID-19. Health officials reported 150 new cases in Toronto, 67 in Peel Region and 46 in York Region.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram