March 10 COVID-19 update: New numbers, city observes anniversary, rollout for Ottawa, Renfrew County

OTTAWA – Ottawa Public Health (OPH) reports two new deaths due to COVID-19, while confirming 52 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the community.

Ottawa’s pandemic death toll sits at 446 as of Wednesday, March 10.

OPH says it is tracking 530 active cases of COVID-19 in the city. There are 25 people hospitalized by the virus — four of whom are in intensive care.

The health unit is also adding two new school outbreaks to its COVID-19 dashboard, as one staff member and one student have tested positive for the virus at Steve MacLean Public School and at École secondaire catholique Paul-Desmarais. Overall, there are six schools dealing with outbreaks.

According to OPH, 20 healthcare institutions are still on outbreak status, as well as two local childcare centres. The unit is also tracking three community outbreaks including one linked to a multi-unit dwelling and two stemming from workplaces. One community outbreak at a community organization has been resolved.

Ottawa received more Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines on Monday (March 8), bringing its total to 80,540. OPH says 69,187 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the community.

Residents being tested for COVID-19 are seeing positive results 2.1 per cent of the time.

There have been 15,259 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa in the last year, of which 14,283 have been resolved.

Ontario is reporting 1,316 new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday, including 11 in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit’s region, 11 in the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark district and one in Renfrew County.

City hall marks one-year anniversary of pandemic

OTTAWA – March 11, marks one year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. 

The Government of Canada is designating March 11 as a National Day of Observance to commemorate the people who lost their lives and the significant impacts felt because of COVID-19.

To commemorate the National Day of Observance for COVID-19, the flags at all City of Ottawa sites will be flown at half-mast from sunrise to sunset on Thursday, March 11.

COVID-19 vaccination updates for health care workers and residents 90 and older

Two new groups qualify for vaccinations 

OTTAWA – Beginning today (March 10), two more groups of Ottawa residents can step forward to receive the COVID-19 vaccine: patient-facing health care workers who are classified as ‘very high priority’ and people age 90 and older.

The booking process for each of these groups is different.

If you are a patient-facing health care worker who is in the “very high priority” category, which includes most community-based doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, midwives and physiotherapists, you can visit OttawaPublicHealth.ca to pre-register for your vaccination appointment. You will be contacted with the details to get your appointment when it is your time in the vaccination sequencing. A definition of who is an  eligible patient-facing “very high priority” health care worker is available through the Province of Ontario.

If you are 90 or older (born in 1931 or earlier) you can call 613-691-5505 to book an appointment. Service providers can take your call between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Service is available in multiple languages.  Appointments will take place starting Friday, March 12 at the Nepean Sportsplex community vaccination clinic.

“The call-in booking system has been put in place to serve residents until a provincial online booking system is launched next week,” city staff released in a statement today. “We know there is a high demand for these vaccines, so we expect very high call volume for these bookings.”

When calling into the booking line, callers will be put into a queue where there is the potential for long wait times.  

“Only eligible residents should call the COVID-19 vaccine booking phone line to make an appointment,” staff said. “Please help us keep phone lines open for those who are eligible to receive a vaccine. Please do not call 311 or the general Ottawa Public Health phone line, as appointments cannot be booked on these lines.”

Walk-ins will not be accepted, so please call in advance to book your appointment.

To enable physical distancing and to reduce the number of people in the clinic, please arrive for your vaccine no more than 10 minutes before your appointment time.

In addition, more community vaccination clinics will open across the city after a provincial booking system is put into place and vaccine supply increases. Eligible residents will also be able to book at these locations at that time, so there will be many more opportunities to book an appointment. More information on the clinics and how to book will be available next week.

The Province of Ontario recently changed the interval between the first and second dose of all vaccines. The second dose will now be given 16 weeks after the first dose. If you already have an appointment booked for your second dose, you will be contacted to reschedule. Exemptions include residents of long-term care homes and retirement homes and remote and isolated First Nation communities.

Confirm your eligibility

For non-healthcare workers, to confirm that you are eligible for vaccination, please visit Ottawa Public Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Screening Tool. Residents who were eligible in previous weeks remain eligible today and throughout the citywide vaccination process. If you are unable to book an appointment when your eligibility is first announced, you can still receive the vaccine at a later date. 

 Transportation

 Accommodations will be made for residents who need help with accessibility and all clinic locations are accessible. If you are a Para Transpo user, you can book your ride to the pop-up clinic through the COVID-19 Vaccination Trip Reservation line at 613-842-3600. If a transportation option is not available to you, you can request a ride to and from the clinic when you book your vaccine appointment. 

Preparing for an appointment

The following people need to consult their healthcare provider to discuss vaccination risks and benefits before their appointment and will be required to verbally attest that they have done so:  

Pregnant individuals

Those receiving stem cell therapy, CAR-T therapy, chemotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, and other targeted agents

It is also recommended that you do not receive another vaccine in the 14 days prior to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Next steps in vaccine roll-out

Residents of all ages who are not yet eligible for the vaccine are encouraged to follow announcements on the City of Ottawa and OPH websites and social media channels, and from your local news media to learn when they can receive their vaccine. They can also sign up for the COVID-19 vaccination update email newsletter for regular news on the vaccine roll-out.

Please refer to Ontario’s vaccine distribution plan for details on other priority groups within Phase 1 of the plan. The provincial government will make vaccines available to additional groups in Phase 2 between April and July, including individuals with health conditions and people between the ages of 60 and 79. Vaccinations are expected to start for the oldest age group and decrease in five-year increments as vaccine supplies are available.

Visit ottawa.ca for more District’s information on the city’s vaccination distribution plan. 

Renfrew County COVID-19 vaccination rollout expands to next priority groups 

RENFREW COUNTY – With confirmation regular weekly shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine will be coming to Renfrew County and District (RCD), the list of those eligible for vaccination will now be expanded to include the next priority groups as outlined by the province.

These priority groups include:

• Retirement Home residents (who will be vaccinated in-home by mobile vaccination teams).
• Retirement Home essential caregivers.
• Residents in the general population who are 80 years of age and older.
• Indigenous residents (on or off reserve) who are 55 years of age and older.

Please note the availability of vaccination appointments will be based on the number of vaccine doses that Renfrew County receives each week.

“Because of this, people should anticipate that it will take a number of weeks for everyone in the new groupings to be able to book and receive their vaccinations,” COVID-19 Vaccines Communications committee member Carolyn Levesque released in a statement today (March 10).

To facilitate this, an online registration system for vaccination appointments has now been launched. You can access the system through Renfrew County and District Health Unit’s (RCDHU) website at: www.rcdhu.com.

Those individuals who are currently eligible for vaccination can visit RCDHU’s website to register online as this is often quicker. Individuals are encouraged to ask a family member or friend to assist if they are unable to do so themselves. If a person is unable to register online, they can call RCDHU at 613-735-9724 or 1-800-267-1097 extension 200. Residents are asked to only leave one message with their name and phone number, and someone will return their call as soon as possible.

Those who register for a vaccination appointment will receive an email with a link to book into one of RCD’s upcoming vaccination clinics (located in Pembroke, Deep River, Arnprior, Renfrew and Barry’s Bay) ONLY when openings become available. Those who have registered who do not have email will receive a phone call when openings become available.

Both registration systems will also be available for individuals in groupings such as health care workers who haven’t yet received their vaccine but are already eligible to do so.

“Everyone registering for a vaccination appointment will be asked to identify how they are eligible to receive the vaccine,” Levesque said. “This can include proof of employment such as ID badge, letter from employer, status card, etc.”

After those individuals aged 80 years and above and Indigenous adults aged 55 and over have been vaccinated, the next groups for vaccine eligibility will include all Indigenous adults, adults receiving chronic home care and “High Priority” health care workers, which include community care lower risk exposures (mental health, addictions, developmental services), campus health, daycare/school nursing, dietary, opticians, podiatry, audiology, naturopath, social work, and non-acute rehabilitation such as chiropractic, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychiatry, psychology, massage therapy, acupuncture and public health. All eligible individuals noted above will be notified when they are able to register through various media channels.

“While information about specific timing for these next groups is not yet known, please be assured communication will be sent out as soon as it is known,” Levesque said. “We appreciate your patience.”

For more information about RCD’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration program, please monitor social media, local media outlets, and RCDHU’s website (www.rcdhu.com).

Carleton Place high school reports five cases of COVID-19

CARLETON PLACE – Two additional cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed at Carleton Place High School, bringing the total number of individuals infected at the institution to five. 

Officials say there has been only one instance of school transmission, while the rest are linked to community spread. 

In a release, the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit says it has contacted all high-risk contacts connected with the infected individuals. 

Carleton Place High School remains open and is operating on a regular schedule.

The health unit continues to encourage parents/guardians to use the COVID-19 School Screening Tool prior to their children attending school each day.