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

Two people make their way up a painted staircase in Ottawa on Monday, July 19, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS) Two people make their way up a painted staircase in Ottawa on Monday, July 19, 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:

  • Ottawa's COVID-19 Testing Taskforce working to expand testing capacity as parents scramble for testing appointments 
  • Active COVID-19 cases and ICU admissions increase in Ottawa
  • All elected Liberal, NDP MPs will be vaccinated, Conservatives still won't say

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

  • New COVID-19 cases: 65 cases on Saturday
  • Total COVID-19 cases: 29,216
  • COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 35.7
  • Positivity rate in Ottawa: 3.4 per cent (seven-day average)
  • Reproduction Number: 1.06 (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 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

Ottawa's COVID-19 Testing Taskforce working to expand capacity as demand for testing increases in September

Ottawa parents lined up with their children outside a pop-up COVID-19 testing centre in Ottawa's Centretown neighbourhood on Saturday, as the scramble continued to get a COVID-19 test.

The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce opened the drop-in clinic at the McNabb Arena on Percy Street Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

"Every other testing option, you had appointments and it wasn't until like three-four days from now, that's a little too late," said Jason Perrier.

With parents scrambling to find COVID-19 testing appointments for their children in the capital this weekend, Ottawa's COVID-19 Testing Taskforce says more appointments for children will open up at the Brewer Arena as staffing levels increase.

The taskforce overseeing COVID-19 testing in the capital says it is working to secure the staffing and resources needed to "rapidly expand and meet the increasing testing demands", including other testing options.

A long line forms at the McNabb Arena in Ottawa on Saturday for a pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic. (Jeremie Charron/CTV News Ottawa)

Active COVID-19 cases and ICU admissions in Ottawa increase on Saturday

Ottawa Public Health reported 65 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Saturday.

Meantime, the number of active cases in the community and ICU admissions continued to rise this weekend.

There are 484 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, the highest number of active cases since early June. There are now seven people in Ottawa area hospital ICUs.

 

All elected Liberal, NDP MPs will be vaccinated, Conservatives still won't say

The Federal Liberals and the NDP say all MPs elected in Monday's federal election will be fully vaccinated when the House of Commons resumes sitting.

Meantime, the Conservative Party will not say whether they will require candidates elected to be Members of Parliament to be vaccinated.

In a statement to CTV News' Rachel Aiello, Conservative Party spokesperson Matthew Clancy said that, "vaccines are safe and effective, and we encourage every Canadian who is able to do so, to get vaccinated."

Throughout the campaign the Conservatives have refused to say how many of their candidates have been fully vaccinated.

Conservative leader Erin O'Toole speaks with a mother and daughter during a campaign stop on Tuesday, September 14, 2021 in Russell, Ontario. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

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