COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for June 23, 2021 - Newstalk 1010 (iHeartRadio)

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

Fast Facts:

• Ottawa Public Health reported just eight new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
• More than 17,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered in Ottawa on Monday, a new one-day record.
• All of Quebec is moving to the province's lowest COVID-19 restriction level next week.
• You can now sign up for last-minute vaccine appointments at city community clinics if a dose goes unclaimed.

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

• New COVID-19 cases: Eight new cases on Tuesday
• Total COVID-19 cases: 27,589
• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 12.7
• Positivity rate in Ottawa: 2.1 per cent (June 14-20)
• Reproduction Number: 0.88 (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 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.
• 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

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 Public Health reported its lowest actual daily case count in almost 10 months on Tuesday.

Eight new cases were recorded in Ottawa, matching the case count of Sept. 1, 2020, the last time cases were this low. 

Yes, there was that day earlier this month when OPH reported a negative case count, but health officials said there were actually 20 new infections that day but 21 were removed from the total because the people who had tested positive didn't live here.

The low case count brought Ottawa's weekly incidence rate even lower, and helped push the number of active cases to its lowest level all year. 

No new deaths were reported Tuesday for a third day in a row.

  COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

There was a major leap forward in the effort to vaccinate residents of Ottawa on Monday.

Mayor Jim Watson tweeted that 17,549 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in Ottawa on Monday, a new one-day record for shots in arms.

The previous high point was 16,298 doses administered on June 12.

The new shots bump Ottawa's vaccine coverage among adults 18 and older to 77 per cent for one dose and 21 per cent for two doses, Watson said.

The City of Ottawa has expanded a tool for health-care workers to the entire population to help residents get a COVID-19 vaccine more quickly.

Residents can now sign up on a waiting list to be informed if a vaccination appointment becomes available that same day at a community clinic.

These last-minute bookings are meant to help with unclaimed doses and could become available at any time of the day. Late last week, the head of Ottawa's vaccination rollout said the city was seeing between 300 and 400 no-shows a day at community clinics, but said no doses are going to waste.

Residents who sign up will be asked to arrive by a particular time and can choose to accept the appointment or not.

The tool on the city's website resets at 11:59 p.m. daily, so you will have to register each day you wish to be notified about a possible last-minute appointment. You can also select where in the city you'd like to receive a dose: central, east, or west, or a combination of all three.

More COVID-19 restrictions will be easing in the Outaouais and all of Quebec next week as the entire province moves to the "green zone", the lowest level of COVID-19 restrictions.

As of Monday, every region in Quebec will move to the Level 1-Vigilance level.

Premier Francois Legualt said at a news conference that, as of Friday, those in private homes with both vaccine doses can gather without wearing masks, and 3,500 people are welcome at outdoor festivals without assigned seating.

On Monday, a maximum of 10 people can gather indoors, and 20 people outdoors. 

Restaurants and bars will be able to seat 10 people at an indoor table, and 20 people can sit together on patios.

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COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for June 23, 2021 - Newstalk 1010 (iHeartRadio)
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