OTTAWA -- Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
- Santa Claus parade in Ottawa sidelined due to COVID-19 pandemic
- Ontario makes COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for staff, volunteers in long-term care homes
- Sixty-one new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Friday
- Ottawa police, bylaw stepping up patrols for Panda Game on Saturday
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
- New COVID-19 cases: 61 cases on Friday
- Total COVID-19 cases: 29,891
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 32.1
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 2.1 per cent (seven-day average)
- 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 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
- Temporary Pop-Up Testing COVID-19 Assessment at McNabb Arena on Percy Street: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- 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 5:30 p.m.
- The Moodie Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Open Saturday, Oct. 2 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
- The Ray Friel Care and Testing Centre: Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Open Sunday, Oct. 3 from 9 a.m. to 1 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 schools in Ottawa and eastern Ontario. All students, teachers and school staff must complete the COVID-19 School 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
Santa Claus will be coming to town this Christmas, but there will be no parades to kickoff the Christmas season in Ottawa.
Organizers say the city of Ottawa has told them that no parade permits are being issued at this time, even through both parades would be outdoors.
"It appears that both our events, and any parade in the city of Ottawa, is regulated under one of the grey rules that they don't have a defined area, so they can't assign a limit of how many people can attend. So by default it ends up being an unlimited attendance," said Bob Rainboth in an interview on Newstalk 580 CFRA.
Rainboth says they are working with the city of Ottawa to see if an event can be held.
"Staff are very, very helpful and very encouraged, but they seem like they even have their hands tied by the rules and regulations," said Rainboth, adding "unfortunately" parades are not top of mind for officials.
Staff, support staff and volunteers working in Ontario's long-term care homes must now be fully vaccinated.
The Ontario government announced it will be mandatory for all staff to receive two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by mid-November.
"Currently, 367 of the 626 homes have staff immunization levels below 90 per cent," Minister of Long-Term Care Rod Phillips said. "More concerningly, 99 homes have a rate below 80 per cent."
"We want to protect all long-term care residents and all staff regardless of which home they live or work in and the evidence shows in long-term care settings, these rates are not acceptable."
Ottawa Public Health reported 61 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Friday, the highest one-day increase in new cases in five days.
Twenty-six of the 61 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa involve residents under the age of 20.
Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa in March 2020, there have been 29,891 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 596 deaths.
Ottawa police and bylaw will be looking to limit the "panda-monium" before and after the Panda Game at TD Place.
Ottawa police and bylaw services officers will be stepping up patrols in Sandy Hill, Old Ottawa South and the Glebe, as well as TD Place/Lansdowne Park.
"We want to make sure that students are respecting the provincial regulations when it comes to physical distancing, social gathering limits and mask wearing if possible," said Michael Lalonde, public information officer with Ottawa Bylaw and Regulatory Services.
"We want to make sure this is no disruption to the neighbourhood and so that's why we'll be out to enforce these regulations."
The Gee-Gees and the Ravens are meeting in the first Panda Game at TD Place since 2019. The 2020 game was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 in Ottawa: The latest on COVID-19 in Ottawa for Saturday, Oct. 2 - CTV Edmonton
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