COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for July 5, 2021 - CTV Edmonton

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

Fast Facts:

• Ottawa youths 12 to 17 eligible for an accelerated second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine starting today
• Border restrictions begin easing for fully vaccinated Canadian travellers 
• Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa at lowest level since first wave
• Students, parents feel unprepared for next grade level following COVID-19 school year, OCDSB survey finds
• Ottawa Public Library reopens enhanced in-person services today following COVID-19 lockdown

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

• New COVID-19 cases: Six new cases on Sunday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 27,699
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 4.4
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 0.5 per cent (June 25-July 1)
• Reproduction Number: 0.77 (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

Ottawa youths 12 to 17 eligible for accelerated second dose

The Ontario government says the accelerated second dose timeline for children and youth will support a safe return to school in September.

Starting at 8 a.m., youths aged 12 to 17 will be able to book their second dose appointment through the provincial booking system or by calling 1-833-943-3900.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is the only vaccine approved for youths 12 to 17 in Canada.

The city of Ottawa says residents 12 to 17 will be eligible to receive an accelerated second dose of COVID-19 vaccine 28 days after receiving their first.

As of Friday, 75 per cent of Ottawa residents aged 12 to 17 had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

The federal government begins its preliminary easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Starting today, fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be exempt from quarantine requirements when they enter the country, including the 14-day quarantine.

The exemption only applies to those eligible travellers who have gone 14 days since receiving a full course of one of the four vaccines approved for use in Canada.

Travellers must also use the ArriveCAN app or online service prior to departure to log their vaccination details, as well as the results of a negative COVID-19 test conducted no more than three days before their arrival.

Ottawa Public Health reported six new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday.

Eleven more cases of novel coronavirus are considered resolved, reducing the number of active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa to 51. That's the lowest number of active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa since the first wave in the spring of 2020.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on March 11, 2020, there have been 27,699 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 591 deaths.

Staying productive and motivated, managing screen time and restrictions on extracurricular activities were the biggest challenges for parents and students in Ottawa's public school board during the COVID pandemic school year.

Meantime, students and parents are concerned about readjusting to the workload and routine of school after the summer break and feeling unprepared for the next grade level when school resumes in September.

The Ottawa Carleton District School Board conducted a survey of parents and students to reflect on the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic and look ahead to the return to school in the fall. A total of 7,023 students in Grades 7 to 12 and 7,761 parents of children in Kindergarten to Grade 12 participated in the survey.

The survey found just seven per cent of students in Grades 7 to 12 described their overall well-being at the end of the school year as "very good", while 24 per cent said good and 34 per cent said fair. Nine per cent of parents graded their child's overall well-being as "very good", while 28 per cent said good and 35 per cent said fair.

The Ottawa Public Library will reopen enhanced in-person services on Monday, allowing patrons to browse the shelves, access public computers and read newspapers and magazines.

The library says capacity inside the branches will be limited to follow provincial guidelines under Step 2 of Ontario's reopening plan.

Safety measures include mandatory masks inside the branch and the need to maintain a two-metre distance from others.

Adblock test (Why?)

COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for July 5, 2021 - CTV Edmonton
Read More