COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for Sept. 28, 2021

COVID-19 outbreaks in Ottawa schools Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, Eastern Ontario medical officer of health, discusses the COVID-19 outbreaks in Ottawa's schools.

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 (Ottawa Public Health data):

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:

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

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

Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa down on Monday

Ottawa Public Health says another 48 people in the city have tested positive for COVID-19 and the number of active cases is down.

To date, OPH has recorded 29,718 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. No new deaths were reported on Monday. The death toll from COVID-19 in Ottawa stands at 595 residents.

Active cases are down Monday and remain below 500. The number of residents hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ottawa held steady on Monday.

Across the province, health officials confirmed another 613 cases of COVID-19. No new deaths were reported in Ontario on Monday and another 578 existing cases are now considered resolved. The province's rolling seven-day average continues to drop. As of Monday, the average is 621, down from 710 last week.

Ottawa Public Health working on COVID-19 vaccination plan for children 5 to 11

Ottawa Public Health says it is exploring options when it comes to vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 against COVID-19, should they become eligible.

Pfizer said last week that its COVID-19 vaccine works in children 5 to 11 and the company is seeking authorization to roll it out in the U.S.

Ottawa Public Health says it is working with partner groups to plan for the rollout.

"OPH has engaged with Kids Come First, an important partner concerning children in Ottawa. Kids Come First includes over 60 organizations, family and youth partners, nearly 1,100 physicians, and thousands of individuals including children, youth and families," Ottawa Public Health said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

"OPH has explored different scenarios, which are contingent on the timing of the vaccine approval and timelines for implementation are still to be finalized. Scenarios include options to increase staffing and clinic locations for OPH vaccine clinics while using the best strategies to reach and communicate with children and their families about their options to get vaccinated."

The health unit says there are approximately 77,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old in Ottawa.

Pop-up COVID-19 testing site at McNabb Arena extended to Oct. 6

The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce says COVID-19 tests will be available at the pop-up testing site at the McNabb Arena for an additional week.

The site was originally intended to be open for only the weekend of Sept. 18 to help meet increased demand for COVID-19 testing as children returned to school. It was later extended to this Wednesday. On Monday, the taskforce said it would now be open until Oct. 6.

The assessment centre is located at 180 Percy St. and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. to anyone six months and older who meets current testing criteria. It was originally intended to be a drop-in testing site, but after long lines its first weekend, an appointment system was put in place.

People under 20 currently make up nearly two fifths of all active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa. Of the 463 active cases of COVID-19 reported by Ottawa Public Health on Monday, 108 were in kids under 10 and another 67 were in people 10 to 19.

Administration of COVID-19 vaccines in Ottawa up last week

Ottawa Public Health says more than 16,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in Ottawa last week, a slight increase over the week prior.

OPH data show 16,600 doses were administered in Ottawa the week of Sept. 19, including 5,938 first doses and 10,662 second doses.

This is higher than the 15,540 doses administered the week of Sept. 12 and the 15,924 administered the week of Sept. 5.

As of Monday, 83 per cent of residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated. That accounts for 72 per cent of Ottawa's total population.

Half of the new first doses administered last week were to people 20 to 39. That age group has been lagging behind other age groups in vaccinations.