COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Sept. 2, 2021

A pedestrian walks past The Bank of Canada in Ottawa on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• Ottawa's largest school board mandates COVID-19 vaccines for all teachers and staff this fall
• Ontario unveils vaccine passport system for restaurants, gyms, theatres and sporting events
• Ten patients in Ottawa area hospitals with COVID-19 related illnesses
• Ottawa council will continue to meet virtually this fall due to COVID-19

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 20 new cases on Wednesday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 28,373
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 19.6
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.9 per cent (seven day average)
• Reproduction Number: 0.99 (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

COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for teachers, staff at Ottawa's largest school board

COVID-19 vaccinations will be mandatory for all teachers and staff members at Ottawa's largest school board this fall.

Trustees with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board voted 11-0 Wednesday evening to implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for all staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The motion directs staff to finalize a COVID-19 mandatory employee vaccination protocol and strategy by Sept. 30, with staff mandated to receive the first dose by the end of the month. Staff members must get the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine "as soon as medically allowed and available."

Exemptions will be provided to workers granted exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Unvaccinated staff members will be required to undergo regular COVID-19 testing. 

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. (Tyler Fleming / CTV News Ottawa)

Ontario reveals vaccine passport system for restaurants, gyms and theatres. Here's what you need to know

You will soon be required to show a proof of COVID-19 vaccination to access non-essential businesses in Ontario.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled plans for the COVID-19 vaccine passport system, requiring proof of vaccination to visit indoor restaurants, gyms, movie theatres, sporting events and concert halls.

"We have two options here. We either do this or we risk shutting down the economy, which would even be worse, having our hospital capacity maxed out and at the brink, having our kids stay at home, our college and university kids going back online. That is what we are trying to avoid," said Ford on Wednesday.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford responds to a question during a press conference announcing the enhanced COVID-19 vaccine certificate system, at Queen's Park in Toronto on Wednesday, September 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

OPH reports 10 COVID-19 patients in hospital with 1 in ICU; 20 new cases

Ottawa Public Health reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Wednesday.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in March 2020, there have been 28,373 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 593 deaths.

The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals remained at ten on Wednesday.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Ottawa council will continue to meet virtually this fall, City Clerk recommends

Ottawa city council and committees will continue to meet virtually this fall due to concerns about the COVID-19 Delta variant.

In a memo to council, City Solicitor Rick O'Connor and Council and Committee Services manager Caitlin Salter MacDonald say Ottawa Public Health and the Office of the City Clerk are recommending that council and city committees continue with the status quo in the fall of 2021.

In addition, all public delegations for items on the fall legislative agenda, as well as the 2022 budget process will also remain virtual through the end of the year.

Council and city committees have been meeting virtually since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Several city councillors told CTVNewsOttawa.ca this summer that they were ready to return to their seats in the Council Chamber and committee rooms.