COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Sept. 28, 2021
Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa were down on Monday following a spike on the weekend.
- Ottawa Public Health says it is reviewing its options for the possible rollout of vaccines for children aged 5 to 11.
- The pop-up COVID-19 testing site at the McNabb Arena will remain open for another week.
- The number of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Ottawa was up week-over-week last week.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 48 cases on Monday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 29,718
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 36.5
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 2.3 per cent (seven-day average)
- Reproduction Number: 0.97 (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
- Temporary Pop-Up Testing COVID-19 Assessment at McNabb Arena on Percy Street: Open daily until Oct. 6 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- 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
Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa down on Monday
Ottawa Public Health says another 48 people in the city have tested positive for COVID-19 and the number of active cases is down.
To date, OPH has recorded 29,718 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. No new deaths were reported on Monday. The death toll from COVID-19 in Ottawa stands at 595 residents.
Active cases are down Monday and remain below 500. The number of residents hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ottawa held steady on Monday.
Across the province, health officials confirmed another 613 cases of COVID-19. No new deaths were reported in Ontario on Monday and another 578 existing cases are now considered resolved. The province's rolling seven-day average continues to drop. As of Monday, the average is 621, down from 710 last week.
Ottawa Public Health working on COVID-19 vaccination plan for children 5 to 11
Ottawa Public Health says it is exploring options when it comes to vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 against COVID-19, should they become eligible.
Pfizer said last week that its COVID-19 vaccine works in children 5 to 11 and the company is seeking authorization to roll it out in the U.S.
Ottawa Public Health says it is working with partner groups to plan for the rollout.
"OPH has engaged with Kids Come First, an important partner concerning children in Ottawa. Kids Come First includes over 60 organizations, family and youth partners, nearly 1,100 physicians, and thousands of individuals including children, youth and families," Ottawa Public Health said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.
"OPH has explored different scenarios, which are contingent on the timing of the vaccine approval and timelines for implementation are still to be finalized. Scenarios include options to increase staffing and clinic locations for OPH vaccine clinics while using the best strategies to reach and communicate with children and their families about their options to get vaccinated."
The health unit says there are approximately 77,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old in Ottawa.
Barbara Violo, pharmacist and owner of The Junction Chemist Pharmacy, draws up a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, in Toronto, Friday, June 18, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Pop-up COVID-19 testing site at McNabb Arena extended to Oct. 6
The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce says COVID-19 tests will be available at the pop-up testing site at the McNabb Arena for an additional week.
The site was originally intended to be open for only the weekend of Sept. 18 to help meet increased demand for COVID-19 testing as children returned to school. It was later extended to this Wednesday. On Monday, the taskforce said it would now be open until Oct. 6.
The assessment centre is located at 180 Percy St. and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. to anyone six months and older who meets current testing criteria. It was originally intended to be a drop-in testing site, but after long lines its first weekend, an appointment system was put in place.
People under 20 currently make up nearly two fifths of all active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa. Of the 463 active cases of COVID-19 reported by Ottawa Public Health on Monday, 108 were in kids under 10 and another 67 were in people 10 to 19.
The McNabb Arena on Percy Street in Ottawa. (Aaron Reid/CTV News Ottawa)
Administration of COVID-19 vaccines in Ottawa up last week
Ottawa Public Health says more than 16,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in Ottawa last week, a slight increase over the week prior.
OPH data show 16,600 doses were administered in Ottawa the week of Sept. 19, including 5,938 first doses and 10,662 second doses.
This is higher than the 15,540 doses administered the week of Sept. 12 and the 15,924 administered the week of Sept. 5.
As of Monday, 83 per cent of residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated. That accounts for 72 per cent of Ottawa's total population.
Half of the new first doses administered last week were to people 20 to 39. That age group has been lagging behind other age groups in vaccinations.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.