COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for May 13, 2021 - CTV News Ottawa

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

Fast Facts:

• Ottawa residents aged 40 and older next in line to book COVID-19 vaccination appointments
• Ottawa's top doctor says it's "looking positive" for Ottawa students to return to school by the end of May
• Ottawa's COVID-19 cases rebound above 100 on Wednesday
• Ontario not ready to lift stay-at-home order, Ontario Medical Association says

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 115 cases on Wednesday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 25,628
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 73.2
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 6.6 per cent (May 5 to May 11)
• Reproduction Number: 0.90 (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 Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 4 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 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (testing only)
• Southwest Ottawa COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Richmond Memorial Community Centre: Open Sunday, Monday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 12 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

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

COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expands to Ottawa residents 40 and older

Ottawa residents 40 and older are next in line to book a COVID-19 vaccination appointment.

Starting at 8 a.m., residents aged 40 and older can book an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine through the provincial online booking system.

The city of Ottawa says approximately 51,000 appointments are available to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at city clinics until June 14.

The Ontario government says when booking an appointment through the provincial online system, you will be asked for the following information:

• Government of Ontario green photo health card
• Birth date
• Postal code
• Email address or phone number

Ottawa's medical officer of health suggests students could return to class for in-person learning before the end of the school year, as COVID-19 levels slowly decline in the capital.

"It's looking positive to be able to open schools towards the end of May, if the rate of COVID continues to come down in the community," said Dr. Vera Etches.

All publicly funded elementary and secondary schools across Ontario have been closed since the end of the April break.

Ottawa Public Health reported 115 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Wednesday, and one more death linked to the virus.

Since the first case in March 2020, there have been 25,628 cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 528 deaths.

The Ontario Medical Association is calling on the Ontario government to extend the current stay-at-home measures past May 20.

The OMA says the number of new COVID-19 cases daily, along with the current number of people in hospital, makes it unsafe to lift restrictions.

"We all want the third wave to be the last wave," OMA President Dr. Samantha Hill said in a statement on Wednesday. "No one wants to start lifting restrictions too soon, only to find the virus spreading again and we have to go back into lockdown."

The OMA does believe some restrictions on outdoor recreation should be lifted to improve people's mental and physical health.

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COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for May 13, 2021 - CTV News Ottawa
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