COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Sept. 9, 2021

A COVID-19 immunization clinic in Ottawa. (Jackie Perez/CTV News Ottawa)

OTTAWA -

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

Fast Facts:

• The number of active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa fell for a third day in a row on Wednesday.
• Ontario has logged fewer than 600 COVID-19 cases for three days in a row.
• An Ottawa gym owner says he will boycott Ontario's proof of vaccination system when it comes into effect later this month.

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 32 new cases on Wednesday.
• Total COVID-19 cases: 28,642
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 23.7
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 3.2 per cent (seven day average)
• Reproduction Number: 1.02 (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

Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa down on Wednesday but positivity rate is up

Ottawa Public Health says another 32 people in the city have tested positive for COVID-19.

To date, OPH has reported 28,642 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa since the pandemic began. No new deaths were reported on Wednesday. The last COVID-19 related death in Ottawa was reported two months ago, on July 8, 2021.

Another 40 existing cases are considered resolved, dropping the number of known active cases in the city for the third day in a row.

The weekly incidence rate of new cases per 100,000 population is up slightly and the weekly average testing positivity rate is now above 3 per cent.

Ottawa Public Health has recorded 154 cases of the Delta variant in the last 30 days. No one infected with the Delta variant in Ottawa has died.

Two new COVID-19 outbreaks were declared at local summer camps on Wednesday and one outbreak was declared at a warehouse. There are currently four outbreaks linked to camps, two linked to daycares, and one linked to a workplace.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Ontario logs fewer than 600 new COVID-19 cases for third straight day

After a spike in cases over the weekend, Public Health Ontario is reporting fewer than 600 cases of COVID-19 in the province for the third day in a row.

Across the province, health officials logged 554 new cases of COVID-19, marking the third day in a row where Ontario has seen fewer than 600 cases. Another 16 Ontarians have died due to COVID-19, but the province says five of those deaths happened more than two months ago and were added in a data cleanup. Another 770 existing cases are now considered resolved.

Of the 554 new cases reported on Wednesday, 418 were in people who were not fully vaccinated or whose status was unknown and 136 were in fully vaccinated people.

There are 375 people hospitalized with COVID-19 across Ontario, 28 of whom are fully vaccinated. Eight people among the 194 in Ontario ICUs are fully vaccinated.

Paramedics wheel a patient into the emergency department at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Ottawa gym boycotting vaccine passports come Sept. 22

In just two weeks, vaccine passports will become part of a daily routine for most Ontarians.

But one small business owner says he’s against the new rules, and he will be boycotting the vaccine passports.

Owner of OCR Academy gym, Joshua Fry, says when passports take effect on Sept. 22, he’s not going to screen any of his members or staff.Fry says he is not against vaccines; he is opposed to asking businesses to screen for compliance.

There is widespread endorsement from public health officials, doctors and medical experts worldwide saying vaccines are safe, and they work.

“My concern is forcing people to do something that they don’t feel comfortable doing,” says Fry. “We all have the right to choose and I am just pro-choice and pro-informed consent.”

Fry believes that people's medical information should remain private and that his facilities are already taking all the precautions to keep people safe.

Two employees have quit over Fry’s decision not to monitor vaccines.

OCR Academy owner Joshua Fry cleaning the monkey bars at his gym. (Dave Charbonneau / CTV News Ottawa)