COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Sept. 1, 2021

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• Quebec's COVID-19 passport system comes into effect today.
• One Ottawa business is offering its employees a $500 bonus for being vaccinated against COVID-19.
• Ottawa's ICUs were free of COVID-19 patients on Tuesday but weekly case trends continue to rise.
• It's back to the drawing board for Ontario's vaccine certificate program after it was rejected at cabinet.

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 14 new cases on Tuesday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 28,353
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 19.2
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.9 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

• 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 2 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 summer camp children and staff. All campers and staff must complete the COVID-19 School and Childcare 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

Here's what Ottawa residents need to know about Quebec’s COVID-19 vaccine passport

Starting today, Quebec residents 13 and older will be required to use the COVID-19 vaccine passport to access non-essential services in Gatineau and across Quebec, including indoor dining at restaurants, gyms, festivals, theatres and other places.

Quebec's COVID-19 vaccine passport is not available to Ontario residents, but residents living in Ottawa and eastern Ontario will still be able to access non-essential services in Gatineau by showing their proof of vaccination card.

The Quebec government says Ottawa residents travelling to Quebec must show photo ID and proof of COVID-19 vaccination issued by Ontario's Ministry of Health. You will need to have two doses of one of the following recognized vaccines:

•  Pfizer-BioNTech
•  Moderna
•  AstraZeneca
•  Covishield
• Janssen (only one dose required)

Last week, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube told reporters there are no additional requirements for visitors to Quebec who want to access places like restaurants and live events. 

QR code for Quebec vaccine passport. (Source: Ministry of Health and Social Services)

This Ottawa store is paying $500 to every vaccinated employee

An Ottawa-based clothing and outdoor equipment store is paying each of its employees a $500 bonus for being vaccinated against COVID-19.

Bushtukah expects all 140 members of their staff will be fully vaccinated within a week or two, but the announcement of a $500 bonus wasn’t intended as a push to get the shot.

According to the company, roughly 90 per cent of employees were already vaccinated before the announcement.

There were some younger employees with only a single dose but, since the bonus was announced, they’ve all scheduled a second shot.

Employees at Bushtukah stores in Ottawa have been given a $500 bonus for being vaccinated against COVID-19. The company expects to have its entire staff of 140 fully vaccinated within the next few weeks. (Colton Praill / CTV News Ottawa)

Zero COVID-19 patients in Ottawa ICUs Tuesday; Active cases down slightly

Ottawa Public Health is reporting zero COVID-19 patients in the city's ICUs and a slight drop in the number of known active cases.

OPH said Tuesday that 14 more people in the city had tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the pandemic total to 28,353 lab-confirmed cases. No new deaths were reported on Tuesday. The last reported death from COVID-19 in Ottawa happened on July 8, 2021.

The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital held steady on Tuesday at 10 but the one person who was in the ICU this past week is no longer in intensive care.The weekly incidence rate of new cases per 100,000 population continues to rise and is now above 19.

Another 16 existing cases in the city are now considered resolved, dropping the number of known active cases to 227.

There are zero active COVID-19 outbreaks in Ottawa.

In the last 30 days, OPH has reported 181 cases of the Delta variant in the city. No one infected with the Delta variant in Ottawa has died.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Ontario's vaccine passport rejected at cabinet leaving timeline up in the air

It's unclear when Ontario will unveil a planned COVID-19 passport system. 

The issue was discussed at a cabinet meeting Monday night, but sources told CTV News Toronto that it was not approved after a two-hour meeting, in part because Premier Doug Ford was unhappy with what was presented and asked that more work be done on the system.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore was scheduled to speak with reporters Tuesday afternoon but a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said the news conference was scrapped "in light of the government’s ongoing work on a proof of vaccination certificate."

Ford has been under increasing pressure to establish a proof of vaccination system in the province as other provinces, including Quebec, roll out theirs. The premier has previously said he is opposed to such as system because he believes it would create a "split society" among vaccinated and unvaccinated people.