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

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

Fast Facts:

• Ottawa, Ontario set to enter four-week, provincewide COVID-19 shutdown on Saturday
• Ottawa Public Health reports an eighth straight day with triple-digit COVID-19 case counts
• Outaouais moves into the red zone; city of Gatineau begins a 10-day lockdown due to rising COVID-19 cases
• 34 Ottawa pharmacies will begin offering the COVID-19 vaccine soon

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 116 new cases on Thursday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 17,410
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 92.3
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 5.9 per cent (Mar. 24 to Mar. 30)
• Reproduction Number: 1.11 (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 require testing 72 hours before a scheduled (non-urgent or emergent) surgery (as recommended by your health care provider);
• You are a patient and/or their 1 accompanying escort tra­velling out of country for medical treatment;
• You are an international student that has passed their 14-day quarantine period;
• 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.

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

Good Friday

• COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre – Moodie: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre – Ray Friel: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• COVID-19 Drive-Thru Assessment Centre at NAC: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 3

• COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre - Moodie: 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• COVID-19 CHEO Assessment Centre and Kids Come First Care Clinic at Brewer Arena: 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• COVID-19 Assessment Centre for Adults at Brewer Park Arena: 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• COVID-19 Drive-Thru Assessment Centre at NAC: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday, April 4

• COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre - Moodie: 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• COVID-19 CHEO Assessment Centre and Kids Come First Care Clinic at Brewer Arena: 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• COVID-19 Assessment Centre for Adults at Brewer Park Arena: 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• COVID-19 Drive-Thru Assessment Centre at NAC: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Vaccine eligibility screening tool:

To check and see if you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Ottawa, click here. 

COVID-19 screening tool:

The COVID-19 screening tool for students heading back to in-person classes can be found here.

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

Four-week shutdown 'definitely needed' in Ottawa: What you need to know about the new rules

Ottawa's top doctor says the four-week shutdown is "definitely needed" in the capital to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and she hopes this is the last shutdown during the pandemic.

"This is different this time because we have the vaccination program that's started," said Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa's medical officer of health.

"What's already happened is we have people in long-term care homes and retirement homes that are well protected and that protection is extending into the community."

Ontario is pulling its "emergency brake" in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 variants. Premier Doug Ford said the four-week shutdown in all 34 public health regions will begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Under the guidelines, indoor and outdoor dining at bars and restaurants is prohibited, and personal care settings and gyms must close. Essential retail stores will be able to operate with a 50 per cent capacity limit, while other retail businesses, including big box stores and stores in malls, can operate at 25 per cent capacity.

Eighth straight day of more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa

Ottawa Public Health reported 116 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Thursday, the eighth straight day with more than 100 new cases of COVID-19.

There were two new deaths linked to the virus.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on March 11, 2020, there have been 17,410 laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 466 deaths.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

Record number of new COVID-19 cases in the Outaouais on Thursday, Gatineau begins 10-day pause at 8 p.m.

A 10-day lockdown is underway in Gatineau in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The Outaouais region moved into Quebec's Level 4-Maximum Alert level at 8 p.m. Thursday, while Quebec imposed a 10-day pause on Gatineau and the MRC des Collines-de-l'Outaouais.

During the 10-day shutdown in Gatineau, all elementary and secondary schools must close, with students moving to online learning. Non-essential businesses must close, including restaurants for in-person dining, salons and gyms.

Health officials reported 126 new cases of COVID-19 in western Quebec on Thursday, the highest one-day spike in new cases.

These Ottawa pharmacies will be administering COVID-19 vaccines

Ottawa residents aged 55 and over will soon be able to get the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at Ottawa pharmacies.

The Ontario government is expanding the pharmacy and primary care locations for COVID-19 vaccinations, including 34 pharmacies in Ottawa. The government released the list Thursday morning.

The pharmacies will offer the AstraZeneca vaccine to people aged 55 and over, with some locations to begin offering the vaccine as early as Saturday.

The city is also receiving 11,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for physicians to administer.