COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Sept. 23, 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:

• Ottawa businesses, customers adjust to new COVID-19 vaccine passport rules
• Ottawa sees the second highest number of new COVID-19 cases across Ontario on Wednesday
• Music fans must be fully vaccinated to attend Ottawa Bluesfest at Lansdowne Park

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 59 cases on Wednesday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 29,443
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 41.7
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 3.1 per cent (seven-day average)
• Reproduction Number: 0.89 (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

'Getting our feet under us:' Ottawa restaurants adjust to new COVID-19 vaccine passport

Ottawa restaurant owners are asking patrons to be patient and understanding as Ontario rolls out the new COVID-19 vaccination passport for non-essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting Wednesday, residents 12 and over must provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to dine-in at restaurants, and attend bars, gyms, movie theatres, concerts and sporting events.

At Metropolitan Brasserie, co-owner Sarah Chown says, "So far, so good."

"We're getting our feet under us and seeing a number of different actual vaccination receipts come in from different provinces, and we actually had a Swiss one today," said Chown during an interview on Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron.

Businesses will be asking patrons for a paper or digital copy of their COVID-19 vaccination receipt and a piece of government-issued ID.

59 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Wednesday, hospitalizations and ICU admissions rise

Ottawa Public Health reported the second-highest number of new COVID-19 cases among health units across Ontario on Wednesday.

Fifty-nine new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Ottawa.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa in March 2020, there have been 29,443 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 595 deaths.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Mandatory COVID-19 vaccine rules at RBC Ottawa Bluesfest

Only fully vaccinated music fans will be allowed to attend RBC Ottawa Bluesfest this weekend at Lansdowne Park.

Bluesfest will run Thursday, Friday and Saturday night on the Great Lawn.

COVID-19 restrictions include only fully vaccinated fans allowed to attend the festival, all patrons must wear a mask at all times except while eating and drinking and capacity is capped at 5,000 people a night.