COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Oct. 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:

• Ontario unveils guidance for Thanksgiving ahead of the long weekend
• Thirteen of 29 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Thursday involve residents under the age of 20
• Kingston hospital places 59 employees on indefinite leave for violating vaccine mandate
• COVID-19 outbreak at a Barrhaven elementary school the largest in an Ottawa school during the pandemic

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 29 cases on Thursday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 30,145
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 31.5
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.9 per cent (seven-day average)
• Reproduction Number: 0.98 (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.
• 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

Ontario unveils guidance for Thanksgiving and Halloween. Here's what you need to know

Ontario's chief medical officer of health says you can gather with people from outside your household for Thanksgiving, as long as you follow the current provincial gathering limits.

Dr. Kieran Moore unveiled guidance for Thanksgiving gatherings on Thursday.

Ontario's gathering limits are currently 100 outdoors and 25 indoors.

Moore said that within a group of fully vaccinated individuals, masks are no longer necessary. 

With people from multiple households who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or status is unknown, you should wear a face covering and physically distance, the province says.

But as the threat of the Delta variant looms, experts say Canadians planning on hosting Thanksgiving gatherings should proceed with caution and avoid having large, indoor gatherings with unvaccinated guests. (Pexels)

29 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on the eve of the Thanksgiving long weekend

Ottawa Public Health reported 29 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Thursday, the eve of the Thanksgiving long weekend.

Thirteen of the 29 new cases of COVID-19 in the capital involved residents under the age of 20.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa in March 2020, there have been 30,145 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 598 deaths.

Across Ontario, there were 587 new cases of novel coronavirus. Health officials say there are 119 cases in Toronto, 55 in Peel Region and 45 in Windsor-Essex.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Kingston, Ont. hospital places 59 employees on indefinite leave for violating vaccine mandate

Kingston Health Sciences Centre has placed 59 employees on an indefinite unpaid leave for failing to comply with its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.

All physicians, staff and learners at the Kingston, Ont. research and teaching hospital were required to provide proof of having received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, or a documented medical reason for not being vaccinated, by Sept. 21. Under the policy, all staff are required to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 22

On Sept. 22, the hospital placed 136 employees on a two week, unpaid administrative leave of absence for failing to provide proof of a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa on Thursday, KHSC said over the past two weeks, 77 employees provided proof of vaccination or a valid exemption and will be able to return to work.

Fifty-nine staff members have now been placed on an indefinite unpaid leave for failing to comply with the policy, said KHSC.

The Kingston Health Sciences Centre says it has a dozen critical care beds available for possible COVID-19 patients. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)

COVID-19 outbreak at Barrhaven elementary school the largest in an Ottawa school during the pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak at St. Benedict elementary school in Barrhaven is now the largest COVID-19 outbreak in an Ottawa school during the pandemic.

Ottawa Public Health says 37 students have tested positive for COVID-19 at the school, which was closed last week due to COVID-19 transmission.

Fifty-two schools in Ottawa's four school boards have active cases of COVID-19 among students and staff.

St. Benedict Catholic School in Barrhaven.