COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for July 17, 2021 - CTV Edmonton

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

Fast Facts:

• Ottawa spending the first weekend in Step 3 of Ontario's economic reopening
• CHEO seeing surge in kids with non-COVID viral symptoms
• Ottawa Public Health reports one new case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Friday, two cases removed from total
• 60 per cent of Ottawa residents 12 and older fully vaccinated
• Toronto Blue Jays announce return to Rogers Centre this month

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

• New COVID-19 cases: One case removed from the Ottawa total
• Total COVID-19 cases: 27,729
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 1.1
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 0.1 per cent
• Reproduction Number: 0.62 (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 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

Indoor dining rooms, fitness centres and museums are open in Ottawa for the first time in three months as Ontario enters Step 3 of the Roadmap to Reopen plan.

The Ontario government moved the province into the final step of the economic reopening plan at 12:01 a.m. Friday, easing restrictions on retail, indoor dining, personal fitness and other venues.

"We've made tremendous progress. I think it's thanks to everyone's efforts that our numbers have come down and our vaccine rates are increasing, so well done Ottawa to this point," said Dr. Brent Moloughney, Ottawa's associate medical officer of health.

Social gatherings of up to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors are now permitted. Indoor dining rooms at restaurants can open with capacity limited to the number of people that can maintain two metres physical distancing.

Doctors and nurses at CHEO are seeing a significant increase in the number of children visiting the emergency department and the COVID-19 testing centre at Brewer Arena with non-COVID viral symptoms.

As Ottawa enters Step 3 of the Ontario economic reopening plan, CHEO is reporting emergency department volumes have been 40 to 45 per cent higher in July compared to July 2019, the last July before the COVID-19 pandemic.

CHEO President and CEO Alex Munter said on Twitter that both the emergency department and the COVID-19 testing centre are seeing a "surge in" children with non-COVID viral symptoms.

"We're sure it's not COVID because we test for COVID," said Munter in an interview on Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now Friday afternoon.

"The kind of respiratory viruses that circulate in the winter amongst kids are here now."

Ottawa Public Health is reporting one new case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Friday, while two cases have been removed from Ottawa's COVID-19 case total because the individuals did not live in the city.

The end result is this is the fourth time in five days that zero new cases have been added to Ottawa's COVID-19 case totals.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in March 2020, there have been 27,729 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 593 deaths.

The city of Ottawa has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 vaccinations for first and second doses in Ontario.

As of Friday, 82 per cent of Ottawa residents 12 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 60 per cent have received two doses of the vaccine and are considered fully vaccinated.

Statistics provided by the Ministry of Health to CTV News Ottawa shows Leeds, Grenville and Lanark has the highest rate for first doses in Ontario at 87 per cent for 12 and older, followed by Thunder Bay at 84 per cent and Ottawa at 82 per cent.

The Toronto Blue Jays are returning home.

The MLB club announced they will return to Rogers Centre Starting July 30.

"The club was granted a National Interest Exemption by the federal government that allows Major League Baseball games to be played at Rogers Centre, with robust health and safety protocols in place," said a statement from the Blue Jays.

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COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for July 17, 2021 - CTV Edmonton
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