COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for April 26, 2021 - CTV Edmonton

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

Fast Facts:

• Ottawa scientist suggests there are "early signs of deceasing" COVID-19 transmission in the community
• Pre-registration begins Monday for pregnant individuals to secure a COVID-19 vaccination appointment in Ottawa
• Daily COVID-19 case numbers jump back above 200 on Sunday

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 227 cases on Sunday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 23,313
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 156.4
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 10.9 per cent (April 16 to April 22)
• Reproduction Number: 0.86 (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

• The Brewer Ottawa Hospital/CHEO Assessment Centre: Open Monday to Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• COVID-19 Drive-Thru Assessment Centre at 300 Coventry Road: Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• The Moodie Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Open Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (testing only)
• The Heron Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• The Ray Friel Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (testing only)
• COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Howard Darwin Centennial Arena: Open daily 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
• Southwest Ottawa COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Richmond Memorial Community Centre: Open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 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

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

Three weeks after the current COVID-19 shutdown began in Ottawa, a senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital says there's a little reason for optimism.

"Early indications are that we are starting to decline. We have that magic R number below 1, for about a week, so early indications are that we’re headed in the right direction," said Dr. Doug Manuel, a member of Ontario’s Science Advisory Table. 

Data from Google Mobility shows the provincial stay-at-home order is already impacting the city.  Fewer people are visiting retail stores, grocery stores, or workplaces. Even park visits are down as well. 

Dr. Manuel says the change in habits is critical to dropping cases to manageable levels. 

"We’re approaching (the mobility) levels we were at in January, so that’s good. Positivity remains high, wastewater is moderate, so in general we’re seeing at least not increasing but early signs of decreasing," he said. 

Ottawa's COVID-19 daily case count surpassed 200 again on Sunday, one day after the lowest one-day increase in coronavirus cases in three weeks.

Ottawa Public Health reported 227 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, and two new deaths linked to the virus.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on March 11, 2020, there have been 23,313 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 490 deaths.

The 227 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday follows 146 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday. That was the lowest one-day increase in new cases since April 1.

Starting today, pregnant individuals in Ottawa will be able to pre-register for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment.

The city of Ottawa says pregnant individuals, as well as others previously identified as people with the highest risk health conditions and one of their caregivers, can visit the Ottawa Public Health website to pre-register. Registration opens at 2 p.m.

The Ontario government now lists pregnant individuals as part of the highest risk health priority groups.

"Individuals who are pregnant are advised to have a discussion with their health care provider prior to getting vaccinated," said the city in a media release on Friday.

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COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for April 26, 2021 - CTV Edmonton
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