Sept. 19 COVID-19 update: New local death, Schools with cases, Polls for mandatory vaccinations, More immunization services

OTTAWA – The number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 has moved up, while active cases continue to steadily increase.

For the second time this month, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is reporting another death (a woman in her 90s), upping the local death toll to 595.

The last time OPH reported a death due to the virus was Sept. 7. Active cases have climbed to 498, which is 14 more than Saturday (Sept. 18).

Sixty-two new cases of the virus were recorded in the city today (Sept. 19), bringing the total to 29,278 in Ottawa. Ottawa represents about 8.7 per cent of all cases reported across Ontario today, which is up from Saturday when the city represented about 7.9 per cent.

The number of people in hospital, has fallen to nine from Saturday’s 11, although seven patients remain in the ICU.

No new outbreaks have been declared, but eight continue in childcare centres and schools, three continue in the community and one in a healthcare institution.

The rate per 100,000 people also went up to 38, from yesterday’s 35.7. The positivity rate in the community remains at 3.4 per cent. No new cases involving variants of concern were detected in the last 24 hours.

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit has added 28 new cases of the virus to its count, up from Saturday’s reported 19.

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit is reporting two new cases, the same as the day before, while the Renfrew County and District Health Unit isn’t reporting any, down from yesterday’s one.

Public Health Ontario has 715 new COVID cases confirmed across the province for Sunday. That’s a decrease from Saturday’s 821 and Friday’s 795.

This brings Ontario’s total number of cases since the pandemic started to 579,584.

Five deaths have also been added to the provincial death toll — one of which happened more than a month ago, adding to the cumulative count based on data cleaning.

In the last 24 hours, 708 cases have resolved.

Since Saturday, 84 patients with COVID-19 have left the hospital, leaving 245 still in hospital.

Of those getting care for COVID, 161 are in the ICU while 112 are on a ventilator.

Of the patients in hospital, 133 (three-quarters) are unvaccinated; 34 are fully vaccinated; and 10 are partially vaccinated.

In the ICU 115 patients are unvaccinated, 11 are fully vaccinated and 10 are partially vaccinated.

Ottawa’s school boards continue to count cases

OTTAWA – As the start of the school year continues, school boards continue to report new cases of COVID-19 in schools across the city.

Up until this point, all four school boards have reported new or active cases, some of which have temporarily shut down classes.

So far this school year, the OCDSB board has accumulated 19 student cases of COVID-19 and five staff cases, neither of which have resolved.

According to the OCDSB online COVID-19 tracker as of Friday at 10 p.m., among the schools reporting active student cases are:

• A.Y. Jackson (two cases)
• Cairine Wilson Secondary School (one case)
• Colonel By Secondary School (one case)
• Gloucester High School (one case)
• Lisgar Collegiate Institute (one case)
• Normal Johnston Secondary (one case)
• Bridlewood Community Elementary School (two cases)
• Chapman Mills Public School (one case)
• Churchill Alternative School (one case)
• Le Phare Elementary School (two cases)
• Manor Park Public School (one case)
• Queen Elizabeth Public School (two cases)
• Rockliffe Park Public School (one case)
• The schools reporting staff cases are:
• Brookfield High School (one case)
• Hillcrest High School (one case)
• Ridgemont High School (one case)
• Maple Ridge Elementary School (one case)
• Stittsville Public School (one case)

All schools, however, remain open.

If schools with two or more cases connected through the school occur, OPH may declare an outbreak and decide whether there is a class, cohort or school closure.

As for the Ottawa Catholic School Board, there are 16 confirmed cases of the virus among students and two among staff.

Student cases can be found at:

• All Saints High School (one case)
• Holy Trinity Catholic High School (one case)
• Notre Dame High School (one case)
• St. Mother Teresa High school (one case)
• St. Patrick’s High School (two cases)
• St. Paul High School (two cases)
• St. Pius X High School (one case)
• Divine Infant School (one case)
• St. Isadore School (one case)
• St. Kateri Tekakwitha School (two cases)
• St. Rose of Lima School (one case)
• Staff cases are found at:
• St. Pius X High School (one case)
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel School (one case)
• Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario

At the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario has a total of six active cases, which have closed four classes to date.

The schools experiencing active cases are:

• É.s.p. Des Sentiers with two cases, which has closed two classes closing
• É.s.p. L’Héritage with two cases
• É.s.p. Le Sommet with one case, which has closed two classes closing
• É.s.p. Louis-Riel with one case
• Écoles catholique Centre-Est
• At Écoles catholique Centre-Est, there are 27 cases of the virus confirmed at its schools with 41 classes in isolation or affected.
• The schools experiencing under this school board that have recorded cases include:
• Collège catholique Mer Bleue with one case and one class affected;
• Collège catholique Samuel-Genest with three cases and four classes affected;
• École élémentaire catholique de la Découverte with two cases and four classes affected;
• École élémentaire catholique des Pins with one case and three class affected;
• École élémentaire catholique la Vérendrye with four cases and four classes affected;
• École élémentaire catholique Marius-Barbeau with two cases and six classes affected;
• École élémentaire catholique Montfort with two cases and four classes affected;
• École élémentaire catholique Notre-Place with one case and two classes affected;
• École élémentaire catholique Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau with one case;
• École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Bernadatte with one case and one class affected;
• École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité with five cases and seven classes affected;
• École secondaire catholique Gatineau with one case and two classes affected;
• École secondaire catholique Paul-Desmarais with one case and one class affected;
• École secondaire catholique Pierre-Savard with one case and two classes affected;
• Lamoureux, enseignement personalisé with one case

Poll fins Canadians want health, social workers vaccinated

CANADA – Following Quebec’s recent announcement its healthcare and social service workers who are not fully vaccinated would be suspended, a recent poll found the majority of Canadians would support the same action in their own province.

According to the poll by Leger released Saturday (Sept. 18), 75 per cent of Canadians who live outside of Quebec would support the mandatory vaccination of healthcare and social service workers in their province.

On top of that, there is sustained support for vaccine passports in Canada, Leger adds.

Healthcare and social service workers in Quebec who are not fully vaccinated by Oct. 15 will be forced on leave without pay.

However, Leger did find that 76 per cent of Quebecers support the mandatory vaccination of workers as well.

Workers who are employed in healthcare settings across the country are already required to have a list of immunizations up to date and must keep them regularly updated with boosters and record them on their CANImmunize.

This is because healthcare workers, including hospital employees and other staff who work or study in hospitals, are at risk of exposure to communicable diseases because of their contact with patients and clients, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, or their environment, Public Health Canada explains.

“There is also a risk that HCW could transmit an undiagnosed vaccine-preventable disease to others. Some health care institutions and jurisdictions are moving toward making vaccinations a condition of employment for HCW,” PHC says on its website.

Unimmunized or incompletely immunized workers should, it continues, receive routine immunizations as appropriate for age as well as vaccines recommended because of specific occupational risks.

The shots on the list for healthcare worker to have already include diptheria, tetanus, Hepatitis B, influenza, measles, meningococcal, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella, varicella; and for lab workers Hepatitis A, rabies, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever, typhoid, and smallpox, among others.

OPH community clinics expand immunization services

OTTAWA – OPH is expanding immunization services offered at its four community vaccination clinics to include routine and catch-up immunizations for eligible children and youth.

“In addition to providing COVID-19 vaccines for people born in 2009 or earlier, starting today, (Sept. 17), the four community clinic locations will offer, by appointment only, publicly funded immunizations for eligible children and youth aged zero to 17-years-old,” OPH staff released in a statement Thursday (Sept. 16).

This also includes catch-up school-based immunizations for students in Grades 7 to 12 who did not receive vaccines at school during the school year.

“Routine vaccinations are an essential health service Learn more about which routine vaccines are recommended for babies and toddlers (birth to three years), children age four to 11, and school-based immunizations for youth age 12 to 18,” staff said. “Contact your child’s health care provider or check your child’s online immunization records for their immunization status.”

Eligibility for child and youth immunizations at community clinics

“If your child has a primary health care provider, such as a doctor or nurse practitioner, please contact them for your child’s routine immunizations,” the OPH said. “However, if your child’s primary health care provider is not currently offering routine immunizations due to COVID-19, or if your child does not have a primary care provider, they are eligible to receive routine immunizations at a community clinic.”

The following groups are eligible to receive routine and catch-up school immunizations at Ottawa Public Health community clinics: 

• Children/youth who are newcomers to Canada 
• Children/youth without an OHIP card 
• Children/youth who do not have a primary provider care, such as a doctor or nurse practitioner

Youth in grades 9 to 12 who have not completed their school-based vaccine series normally administered at school in grade 7 (hepatitis B, human papillomavirus (HPV) and meningococcal conjugate vaccine) 

Youth in grades 7 or 8 who are unable to attend their school clinic. Information on school clinics is available on Parenting in Ottawa.

“After a temporary pause to the school-based immunization program during the 2020/2021 school year due to COVID-19, Ottawa Public Health has restarted its publicly funded school immunization program for the 2021/2022 school year to protect students in Grades 7 and up from hepatitis B, human papillomavirus (HPV), and meningococcal disease,” OPH staff said.

Information on school clinics is available on Parenting in Ottawa.

“If your child is eligible, make an appointment for them to receive their routine immunizations or to get caught up on their immunizations at a community clinic using the Ottawa Public Health immunization online booking system,” OPH said.

Drop-ins will not be accepted for these vaccines.

Please stay home and reschedule your child’s appointment if you have any COVID-19 symptoms or are feeling unwell, even if your symptoms are mild.

The four community clinics are open between 12:45 p.m. and 7 p.m., Tuesday to Friday, and between 9:45 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturdays and are located at: 

• Eva James Community Centre – 65 Stonehaven Drive
• Ruddy Family YMCA-YWCA, Orléans – 265 Centrum Boulevard
• Minto Sports Complex at University of Ottawa – 801 King Edward Avenue
• J.H. Putman Public School – 2051 Bel-Air Drive

For more information, visit OttawaPublicHealth.ca or call Ottawa Public Health at 613-580-6744 (TTY: 613-580-9656).