COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Sept. 22, 2021

The Ottawa sign on York Street in Ottawa's ByWard Market. (Photo by Jacob Meissner on Unsplash)

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• Ontario's proof of vaccination system comes into effect today.
• Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa dipped back below 500 on Tuesday
• Ontario reported a drop in daily COVID-19 cases for the fourth day in a row.

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 46 cases on Tuesday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 29,384
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 39.2
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 3.1 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

Ontario's proof of vaccination system begins today; here's what you need to know

Ontario's new COVID-19 vaccination passport takes effect today, requiring people to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to access non-essential businesses in Ottawa and across Ontario.

Children under 12 will not need to show proof of vaccination to access non-essential businesses.

The Ontario government says individuals aged 12 and older can provide either a paper or digital copy of their vaccination receipt. It must include name, date of vaccination and product name at the time of vaccination.

You can download your COVID-19 vaccination receipt from Ontario's provincial booking portal.

You must also prove the vaccine receipt is yours by providing government issued identification that includes your name and date of birth.

Exemptions to the proof of COVID-19 vaccination regulation include children under 12, youth under age 18 participating in indoor organized sports, including training practices, games and competitions, and people with a medical exemption.

You will not need to present your proof of vaccination for retail shopping, nor at grocery stores, banks, and places of worship.

Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa drop back below 500 on Tuesday

Ottawa Public Health says another 46 people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19. The number of known active cases is back below 500.

To date, OPH has recorded 29,384 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa. No new deaths were reported on Tuesday, leaving the city's pandemic death toll at 595 residents.

Daily COVID-19 case counts are typically lower on Tuesdays.

The number of people in local hospitals with COVID-19 dropped slightly on Tuesday. No new COVID-19 outbreaks were declared on Tuesday.

In the last 30 days, OPH has recorded 224 cases of the Delta variant. Two residents who had been infected with the Delta variant have died.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Ontario reports another drop in new COVID-19 cases with 574 infections logged

Ontario reported a decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases for a fourth day in a row on Tuesday.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says of the 574 cases reported on Tuesday, 140 are in people who are fully vaccinated and 434 are in people who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

There are 330 people hospitalized with COVID-19 across Ontario. 303 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 27 are fully vaccinated. Of the 179 people in ICU due to COVID-19, 170 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and nine are fully vaccinated.

Ottawa Public Health data suggest unvaccinated residents are 11 times more likely to contract COVID-19 than fully vaccinated residents are.