Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
The City of Ottawa is now accepting appointments for COVID-19 vaccines for certain residents.
COVID-19 trends in Ottawa remained steady in the “orange” zone on Monday.
More than 50,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far in Ottawa.
Outaouais residents 80 and older can start booking vaccine appointments today.
We get a look inside the Queensway Carleton Hospital’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):
New COVID-19 cases: 65 new cases on Monday.
Total COVID-19 cases: 14,770
COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 35.0
Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.7 per cent (Feb. 21 to Feb. 27)
Reproduction Number: 0.99 (seven day average)
Testing:
Who should get a test?
Ottawa Public Health says there are five reasons to seek testing for COVID-19:
You are showing COVID-19 symptoms. OR
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. OR
You are a resident or work in a setting that has a COVID-19 outbreak, as identified and informed by Ottawa Public Health. OR
You are eligible for testing as part of a targeted testing initiative directed by the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Long-Term Care. OR
You have traveled to the U.K., or have come into contact with someone who recently traveled to the U.K., please go get tested immediately (even if you have no symptoms).
The Brewer Ottawa Hospital/CHEO Assessment Centre: Open Monday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Friday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
COVID-19 Drive-thru assessment centre at National Arts Centre: Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 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.
Vaccine eligibility screening tool:
To check and see if you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Ottawa, click here.
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 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 residents in several high-priority neighbourhoods who are 80 and older or who are adult recipients of chronic home care can now book an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
the City of Ottawa launched its new booking system Monday afternoon. Residents of the Emerald Woods, Heatherington, Ledbury, Heron Gate, Ridgemont, Riverview, and Sawmill Creek neighbourhoods are currently eligible. You must have been born in or before 1941 and provide proof that you live in one of the areas to book an appointment. There will be no walk-in vaccinations as all shots will be administered by appointment only.
Shots will be delivered at one of three pop-up neighbourhood clinics. The date and time of your vaccination will depend on when you book.
Ottawa Public Health says 65 more people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19 and one more person has died.
According to Ottawa Public Health’s COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 14,770 total laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa since the pandemic began and 440 residents have died.
The number of peoiple with known active cases of COVID-19 rose slightly in Monday’s report and there is one more person in hospital with COVID-19. Weekly cases per capita are up again after a slight dip on Sunday, but the testing positivity rate has declined. The estimated reproduction number held steady at just under 1.
Ottawa Public Health is reporting a milestone in the city’s efforts to vaccinate residents against COVID-19.
As of Monday, 50,508 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Ottawa. That includes first and second shots to residents, as well as some sixth doses pulled from five-dose vials by vaccination teams.
Clinics and vaccination teams administered 1,383 shots just this past weekend.
To date, Ottawa has received 53,820 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 8,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine. Both vaccines require two doses to be fully effective.
The vaccination campaign across the river is ramping up, with the CISSS de l’Outaouais saying residents 80 and older can book vaccine appointments as of today.
Vaccine appointments were made available for Outaouais residents 85 and older starting last Thursday.
The CISSS de l’Outaouais is urging residents to check the Quebec government’s COVID-19 vaccine portal for more information.
When vaccine supply arrives and public health officials give the go-ahead, the Queensway Carleton Hospital says its vaccination clinic is ready to go.
Once it’s up and running, about 500 people per day will be able to get vaccinated at this clinic, one of several in the city. That number will increase to up to 1,000 per day when vaccine supply increases.
People will be able to access the clinic through a separate entrance without having to walk through the hospital.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
