COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Aug. 9, 2021 - CTV News Ottawa

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

Fast Facts:

• Travel restrictions for fully vaccinated Americans ease today at Canada-U.S. border crossings
• Active cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Ottawa
• Ottawa Catholic School Board spending millions to upgrade ventilation systems in schools
• Ottawa Public Health hosting COVID-19 vaccine clinics this week to boost vaccinations ahead of the school year

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

• New COVID-19 cases: 16 new cases on Sunday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 27,878
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 6.1
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 0.7 per cent (seven day average)
• Reproduction Number: 1.26 (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 are a patient and/or their 1 accompanying escort tra­velling out of country for medical treatment;
• 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.

Long-term care staff, caregivers, volunteers and visitors who are fully immunized against COVID-19 are not required to present a negative COVID-19 test before entering or visiting a long-term care home.

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

Fully vaccinated U.S. travellers can visit Canada for non-essential reasons starting today, as Canada eases border restrictions.

As of Aug. 9, American citizens and permanent residents are allowed to enter Canada if they can provide proof they've been fully vaccinated for at least 14 days.  To be eligible, travellers must live in the U.S., have allowed at least 14 days to pass since their last dose and show proof of a negative molecular test for COVID-19 that's no more than 72 hours old.

Fully vaccinated U.S. travellers will also be exempt from quarantining for 14 days.

As part of the new restrictions, international flights are once again allowed to land at the Ottawa International airport.

Ottawa Public Health reported 16 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday, and no new deaths linked to the virus.

It's been 24 days since a death linked to COVID-19 was reported in Ottawa.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa in March 2020, there have been 27,878 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 593 deaths.

The number of known active cases of COVID-19 is above 70.

The head of the Ottawa Catholic School Board says the board has been busy all summer upgrading ventilation and air quality systems in classrooms in preparation for a second school year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And with the first day of classes just four weeks away, Director of Education Tom D'Amico anticipates all upgrades will be completed when students return to the classroom.

"Since last September, we have received close to $26 million from federal and provincial funding," said D'Amico during an interview on CTV News at Six.

"What we have been doing this summer is continuing to inspect all of our rooftop units, all of our HVAC systems. We're making sure that they're optimized to get the cleanest, freshest air into every school."

D'Amico says after installing 650 HEPA filtration units (high-efficiency particulate absorbing filter units) in the 83 schools last year, another 386 HEPA filters will go into classrooms this school year.

There are several options available if you want to receive your first or second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the city of Ottawa this week.

The city says first and second dose drop-ins are available at Ottawa's community clinics. Community vaccine hubs are also open in Ottawa this week, and the University of Ottawa is hosting a vaccine clinic for post-secondary students looking to receive a first or second dose before going back to school.

For a list of COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Ottawa this week, click here.

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COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Aug. 9, 2021 - CTV News Ottawa
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