COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Dec. 3, 2020

Love locks on Corktown Bridge over the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Ont. (Photo by Jesse Little of Unsplash)

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

Fast Facts:

COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa:

Testing:

Who should get a test?

Ottawa Public Health says there are four reasons to seek testing for COVID-19:

Where to get tested for COVID-19 in Ottawa:

The COVID-19 Assessment Centre at 151 Brewer Way is open seven days a week. Appointments are required in most cases but LIMITED walk-up capacity is available.

To book a test for an adult, click here.

The CHEO Assessment Centre at Brewer Arena – 151 Brewer Way is open seven days a week. Testing is available by appointment only.

To book a test for a child under the age of 18, click here.

The COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre at 595 Moodie Dr. is open from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. The centre offers an appointment with a physician (including appropriate tests) for residents who are experiencing more significant symptoms like fever, difficulty breathing or a sore throat, or testing only for residents with mild symptoms or others who qualify for testing under current guidelines.

To book an appointment, click here. 

The COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre at 1485 Heron Rd. is open from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. The centre offers an appointment with a physician (including appropriate tests) for residents who are experiencing more significant symptoms like fever, difficulty breathing or a sore throat, or testing only for residents with mild symptoms or others who qualify for testing under current guidelines.

To book an appointment, click here.

The COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre at the Ray Friel Recreation Complex – 1585 Tenth Line Rd. is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It offers an appointment with a physician (including appropriate tests) for residents who are experiencing more significant symptoms like fever, difficulty breathing or a sore throat, or testing only for residents with mild symptoms or others who qualify for testing under current guidelines.

To book an appointment, click here.

The COVID-19 drive-thru assessment centre at the National Arts Centre. The centre is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

To book an appointment, click here.

The COVID-19 Assessment Centre at the McNabb Community Centre, located at 180 Percy Street, is open Monday to Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

To book an appointment, click here.

The Centretown Community Health Centre at 420 Cooper St. offers COVID-19 testing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. To book an appointment, call 613-789-1500 or book an appointment online.

The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre at 221 Nelson St. offers COVID-19 testing from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.  Click here to book an appointment or call 613-789-1500

The Somerset Community Health Centre at 55 Eccles St. will offer COVID-19 testing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday. To book an appointment, call 613-789-1500 or book an appointment online.

See here for a list of other testing sites in Ottawa and eastern Ontario.

COVID-19 screening tool:

The COVID-19 screening tool for students heading back to in-person classes can be found here.

Symptoms:

Classic Symptoms: fever, new or worsening cough, shortness of breath

Other symptoms: sore throat, difficulty swallow, 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

'I just got a bad lottery card': Ottawa's Pure Country 94's Jeff Hopper in hospital with COVID-19

Ottawa's Pure Country 94 morning co-host Jeff Hopper is feeling much better, five days after being admitted to the Ottawa Hospital with COVID-19.

"This has been something that I didn’t think would happen to me in any way, shape or form," said Hopper during an interview on CTV News at Six with Patricia Boal. "I’m a 44-year-old high-energy, two stairs at a time guy."

On Nov. 22, Hopper's father Robert Hopper passed away after contracting COVID-19. Jeff Hopper tells CTV News Ottawa he was with his father, and contracted novel coronavirus from him.

"I didn’t think too much of it, I thought I’d be asymptomatic probably, but in the end it really knocked me down. By Friday, I had to come to the hospital," said Hopper.

"Very short of breath, extremely high fever, headache, body ache, I mean really bad symptoms - black diarrhea, coughing up blood, very graphic situation happening to me. On Monday I really, really thought I was in big, big trouble."

Hopper received a steroid that improved his condition.

Ottawa sees uptick in new COVID-19 cases Wednesday

Ottawa Public Health reported 46 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, along with two deaths linked to the virus.

Since the first case of COVID-19 on March 11, there have been 8,567 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 378 deaths.

Across Ontario, there were 1,700 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday.

COVID-19 numbers 'not falling' to the threshold for loosening restrictions in Ottawa: Dr. Etches

Ottawa's medical officer of health says there has been progress in reducing COVID-19 levels in the community, but Ottawa is not at the threshold to loosen restrictions.

"They're pretty stable right now. They’re not falling further that would take us into an area with less restrictions," said Dr. Vera Etches, about Ottawa's COVID-19 case numbers and positivity rate.

The Ontario government moved Ottawa into the "orange-restrict" zone on Nov. 7, with restrictions for bars, restaurants, gyms, fitness centres, movie theatres and sports teams. Among the restrictions, bars and restaurants must stop serving alcohol at 9 p.m. and close at 10 p.m., and only four people can sit at a table.

On Wednesday, Ottawa Public Health reported Ottawa's rate per 100,000 population was 29.5 and the COVID-19 positivity rate was 1.5 per cent.

Ford 'really pushing' to eliminate 14-day quarantine for travellers returning to Canada

Premier Doug Ford says he's "really pushing" to eliminate the 14-day quarantine rule for travellers returning to Canada from overseas.

Ford told reporters Ontario wants to replace the quarantine with a rapid COVID-19 testing program, similar to what Alberta implemented.

Under the plan, international travellers receive a COVID-19 test upon entering Canada before going into quarantine. If the test comes back negative, those travellers are allowed to leave quarantine but will have to take another test six or seven days after their initial arrival.