OTTAWA —
Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.
Fast Facts:
Ottawa sees 78 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the same day Ontario reported another record-breaking number of new COVID-19 cases
Kingston’s top doctor is telling people to stay close to home following a spike in COVID-19 cases
An infectious disease specialist says a second COVID-19 lockdown would need to be more restrictive than the first shutdown in March-April
Pembroke boy delivering crates of smiles to kids during COVID-19 pandemic
Testing:
Who should get a test?
Ottawa Public Health says there are four 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.
Where to get tested for COVID-19 in Ottawa:
The COVID-19 Assessment Centre at151 Brewer Way is open seven days a week. Appointments are required in most cases but LIMITED walk-up capacity is available.
The CHEO Assessment Centre atBrewer 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.
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.
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.
The COVID-19 drive-thru assessment centre at 300 Coventry Road is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Monday will be the final day for the drive-thru assessment centre on Coventry Road. A new drive-thru assessment centre will open at the National Arts Centre on Thursday.)
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.
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.
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
On the day Ontario set a new single-day record for COVID-19 cases, Ottawa Public Health reported 78 new cases of COVID-19.
No new deaths were announced in Ottawa on Saturday.
Since the first case of COVID-19 on March 11, there have been 7,844 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 356 deaths.
Across Ontario, 1,571 new cases of COVID-19 were announced Saturday, Nearly 70 per cent of the new cases were in Toronto, Peel and York Regions.
As concern grows about a second lockdown in Ontario due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an infectious disease specialist warns the second lockdown would need to be more restrictive than the first.
“Quite honestly, I think it’s going to have to be even more restrictive than the first shutdown situation,” said Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, adding a uniform approach across Ontario is required.
“I think we are fooling ourselves into believing that we can continue with this grated, targeted, surgical, peace meal approach, it’s absolutely unrealistic, this virus is getting worse everywhere.”
“It was a fairly courageous and brave decision to tighten those restrictions less than a week after they’d been rolled out. We also know that there is more work to be done,” said Dr. Samantha Hill, President of the Ontario Medical Association Saturday evening.
“We’re going to keep advocating for better restrictions on things like indoor restaurants, bars and recreational settings. The reason we’re going to keep advocating for things like that is because of the increasing evidence that these are the high risk settings that contribute to the spread of COVID-19.”
Kingston’s top doctor is urging residents to stay close to home as new cases of COVID-19 begin to rise in the city.
Ten new cases of novel coronavirus were announced in the city on Friday.
In a video posted to social media, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said, “our risk is getting higher. The number of cases that we’re following is going up.”
“The Greater Toronto Area has ongoing community spread, and everywhere in that community is a risk,” said Dr. Moore in the video. “So, please travel if it’s only for work or life and death.”
A Pembroke boy is delivering crates of smiles to help entertain any child during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The idea was born when Kendal Rooney started looking for a subscription box for her son Jake during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cost for just one of Jake’s Crates to try is $10. The cost of a six-month subscription is $8.99 per month. “I try to make them cheap so everyone can afford it,” says Jake.
And the value for money is really packed into every box. Just the book alone put into the crate usually can cost more than $10 at a book store, but Jake’s Crates secures overstocked books to keep their costs low. Other items found in the boxes include small figurines, colouring sheets, markers, craft items, stickers, playing cards, jokes, local snack items, hats, and coupons to local businesses.
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
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.
