COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa
| COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China |
| Arrival date | March 11, 2020 |
| Date | April 16, 2021 |
| Confirmed cases | 21,552 |
| Active cases | 3,218 |
| Recovered | 17,852 |
Deaths | 482 |
| Fatality rate | 2.24% |
| Government website | |
| Ottawa Public Health | |
The COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa is part of the global ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Ottawa is the 4th most populous city in Canada, it is also the second largest city in Ontario, and the capital city of Canada.[1]
On March 11, 2020, the first identified case of COVID-19 in Ottawa was a man in his 40s who travelled to Austria, stated Ottawa's medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches. It was found to be a travel-related case, showing that there was no evidence of community spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Ottawa.[2][3] On March 25, 2020, Mayor Jim Watson declared a local state of emergency, eight days after Premier Doug Ford declared a provincial state of emergency.[4][5][6] Initial restrictions preventing essential businesses from operating (such as the closure of indoor dining and personal care services) continued through until June 12, 2020, when the government of Ontario allowed Ottawa to enter Stage 2 of reopening.[7] Ottawa Public Health announced that masks are mandatory in all public indoor settings on July 15, 2020.[8] On July 17, 2020, Ottawa was allowed into Stage 3 of reopening.[9]
Starting in the early summer of 2020, Ottawa saw a significant decline of new cases.[10] Along with other areas of Canada, cases began to steadily rise in late summer and early autumn.[11] Ottawa, Peel Region, York Region and Toronto began to face restrictions based on rising viral spread and were initially knocked back into a modified Stage 2 tier until the province introduced a new colour-coded Response Framework for the province involving five tiers based on regional COVID-19 numbers.[12] Ottawa had its modified Stage 2 status lifted for parts of November, until the province declared a province-wide shutdown beginning December 26, 2020.[13] This included the declaration of a second state of emergency in January 2021 and stay-at-home orders for the entire province. Ottawa's stay-at-home orders were lifted on February 16, 2021, and Ottawa was moved into the "Orange-Restrict" category of prevention measures.[14]
Vaccine rollout[edit]
In December 2020, Health Canada approved the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and the mRNA-1273 vaccine developed by Moderna. Widespread plans for COVID-19 vaccinations across Canada and the province began during the week of December 14, 2020.[15] On February 26, 2021, Health Canada approved the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for use.[16] In Ottawa, the first vaccine was administered at the Ottawa Hospital - Civic Campus, on December 15, 2020. It was the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as the mRNA-1273 vaccine developed by Moderna was administered at a later date.[17][18] Vaccine rollout plans for Ottawa started for only Long Term Care (LTC) residents, staff, and certain health-care workers, but slowly expanded to a larger range. As of March 5, 2021, adults 90 years of age or older anywhere in the city can receive their COVID-19 vaccine, along with the Inuit, First Nations, and Métis population. Adults 80 years of age or older living in certain high-risk neighbourhoods can receive their vaccine doses.[19] Residents in Ottawa shelters can also receive a COVID-19 vaccine dose.[18][20]
Mass vaccination[edit]
On March 12, 2021, one of Ottawa's first mass vaccination sites opened at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital.[21] The site is currently only providing doses to residents 90 years of age or older, and is currently appointment-only.[22] The hospital plans to administer 1,100 daily at its peak.[21]
Timeline[edit]
2020[edit]
January[edit]
No COVID-19 cases were recorded in January in Ottawa.
February[edit]
No COVID-19 cases were recorded in February in Ottawa.
March[edit]
On March 11, the first identified COVID-19 case in Ottawa was recorded. It was found to be a travel-related case, showing no evidence that there was community spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Ottawa.[23][24]
On March 13, the city's first COVID-19 Assessment Centre opens at Brewer Arena.[23]
On March 16, the city closed all municipal facilities. They would remain closed until June 2020.[23]
On March 25, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declares a state of emergency. On the same day, Ottawa has its first confirmed COVID-19 death when a man in his 90s dies at the Ottawa Hospital.[23]
April[edit]
On April 1, the Quebec government imposed travel restrictions between Ontario and Quebec, setting up checkpoints at the five crossings of the Ottawa River, which separates the city of Ottawa in Ontario and Gatineau in Quebec. Restrictions lasted until May 18.[23]
On April 9, a COVID-19 outbreak is declared at Carlingview Manor, a long-term care home which would be the hardest hit care home in the city. The outbreak ended on June 18.[23]
June[edit]
On June 12, the city entered Stage 2 of the province's re-opening plan, allowing malls, businesses, restaurant patios and hair salons to re-open.[23]
On June 15, OC Transpo became the first public transit authority in Canada to make face masks mandatory.[23]
July[edit]
On July 7, masks are made mandatory in all indoor public spaces in the city.[23]
On July 15, Ottawa City Council approved a face mask by-law in the city for enclosed public spaces. It came with a fine of between $200 and $400.[23]
On July 17, the city entered Stage 3 of the province's re-opening plan, allowing bars and restaurants to open for indoor dining, as well as movie theatres, gyms and fitness centres.[23]
August[edit]
On August 26, City Council extended the mask by-law to include common areas of apartments and condominiums.[23]
September[edit]
On September 18, the city's chief medial officer, Dr. Vera Etches announced the city had entered the second wave of pandemic, blaming the relaxing of measures in August.[23]
On September 19, Monsignor Paul Baxter School in Barrhaven was ordered closed for 14 days due to an outbreak. Three more schools were closed in October.[23]
On September 22, an outdoor barbecue at a park becomes a superspreader event, resulting in 27 positive cases.[23]
On September 25, an outbreak is declared at the Extendicare Starwood long-term care home, which resulted in 25 residents dying. It was the hardest hit LTC during the second wave of the pandemic.[23]
October[edit]
On October 8, an indoor wedding with no physical distancing or people wearing masks leads to 22 cases of COVID-19.[23]
On October 10, Ottawa moved into a "modified stage 2" resulting in the temporary closure of indoor dining at restaurants and bars and the closure of fitness centres and movie theatres.[23]
On October 14, it was announced that Ottawa had the highest rate of COVID-19 in the province.[23]
On October 15, a 53-year-old woman was charged with breaking the Quarantine Act for failing to self-isolate for 14 days after travelling abroad and returning to work at a long-term care home.[23]
November[edit]
On November 7, the city becomes part of the "orange-restrict" zone following the province's new colour-coded tiered restriction system. This allowed for indoor dining to return with a 50-person limit and last call at 9pm. Gyms, fitness centres and movie theatres were also allowed to re-open.[23]
December[edit]
On December 14, the city received its first vaccine shipment, with 3,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arriving at the Ottawa Civic Hospital.[23]
On December 15, the first person in the city was vaccinated, Jo-Anne Miner, a personal support worker.[23]
On December 21, it was announced that the city would go under a 28-day lockdown beginning on Boxing Day. Mayor Watson and Dr. Etches expressed disdain at the decision.[23]
On December 26, the city went under another lockdown, where only essential businesses were allowed to remain open.[23]
On December 27, the first case of the UK coronavirus variant was detected in the city from someone who had recently returned from the UK.[23]
2021[edit]
January[edit]
On January 5, a pilot project began to move doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from the Ottawa Hospital directly to long-term care homes. Residents at the Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre are the first to receive the vaccine outside of a hospital.[25]
On January 8, it was announced that students would not be returning to school from Christmas vacation on the 11th as had been anticipated, but would do virtual schooling for the next two weeks.[26]
On January 9, the Department of Canadian Heritage announced that Ottawa's annual Winterlude festival would be held virtually this year.[27] The Rideau Canal skateway did open for the season, but without concessions.
On January 17, an outbreak at the Valley Stream retirement home in Nepean leads to four deaths.[28]
On January 20, it was announced that schools in the city will remain closed. They had been set to re-open on the 25th.[29]
On January 22, the city bans sledding and tobogganing at Mooney's Bay Hill due to consistent large crowds.[30]
On January 27, city council unanimously approved extending the city's temporary mask by-law until April 29.[31]
February[edit]
On February 5, the fist doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the city.[32]
On February 8, the provincial government announced that the city's stay at home order would last until February 16. It had been in effect since December 26.[33]
On February 9, the first case of the B.1.351 variant (first identified in South African) of the virus was confirmed.[34]
On February 17, two employees at the Stirling Park Retirement Community were fired after accusations one of them allowed their wife to be vaccinated while stopping a housekeeper from getting theirs.[35]
March[edit]
On March 2, it was announced that police officers with the Ottawa Police Service would begin getting vaccinations on the 3rd.[36]
On March 12, the city opened its first mass vaccination community clinic at the Nepean Sportsplex, and is available to all residents over 90.[37]
On March 19, the city once again entered into the province's "red zone", which means limiting social gatherings to five people indoors and 25 people outdoors, restaurants only being able to seat ten people inside, tighter capacity at gyms, banning of team sports and closures of movie theatres.[38]
April[edit]
On April 1, it was announced that 34 pharmacies in the city could start offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to adults over 55.[39]
On April 3, the entire province goes under a four-week lockdown amid a rising case numbers as the province enters the third wave of the pandemic.[40]
On April 6, the province released a list of forward sortation areas declared as "hot spots" where adults 50 and over would be able to get vaccinations.[41] In Ottawa, this included K1T and K1V in the city's south end and K2V in Kanata. The inclusion of the latter was scrutinized due to having lower than average COVID-19 cases.[42]
On April 8, the entire province goes on a stay-at-home order.[43]
On April 16, the day before the province's new orders temporarily allowing police to conduct random stops to enforce the stay-at-home order, the Ottawa Police Service announced that they would not be using their new powers.[44] The new orders include restrictions to provincial border crossings (including the installation of checkpoints), prohibiting outdoor social gatherings, closure of all non-essential workplaces, the reduction of capacity limits in retail settings, and the closure of outdoor recreational amenities, including playgrounds.[45]
On April 20, following the province's reversal on not allowing playground use, the city announced that anyone within 5m of playground equipment would be required to wear masks, as of April 21.[46]
On April 28, city councillors Eli El-Chantiry, Jan Harder and Carol Anne Meehan request that parks in their wards (all parks in Barrhaven Ward and Gloucester-South Nepean Ward and Sheila McKee Park in West Carleton-March Ward) be closed at 9pm (rather than 11pm) in accordance with new measures to make it easier for law enforcement to police large public gatherings. They are the only councillors to make such a request.[47]
Notable closures relating to the pandemic[edit]
- Public schools[48]
- National museums[49]
References[edit]
- ^ "The Largest Cities in Canada". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Ottawa records 1st case of coronavirus | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ Dept, Innovative Client Services (2020-04-16). "Archived - First confirmed case of COVID-19 in Ottawa". ottawa.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ Dept, Innovative Client Services (2020-03-25). "Mayor Watson declares state of emergency for Ottawa due to COVID-19". ottawa.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ Raymond, Ted (2020-03-25). "Watson declares state of emergency in Ottawa over COVID-19". Ottawa. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Ottawa mayor declares state of emergency | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ Pringle, Josh (2020-06-25). "Ottawa will enter Stage 3 of COVID-19 reopening plan 'hopefully' by fall: Dr. Etches". Ottawa. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Masks mandatory as of midnight in Ottawa, region | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ Pringle, Josh (2020-07-17). "Ottawa enters Stage 3: Nearly all businesses can reopen during COVID-19 pandemic". Ottawa. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Statistics on Coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) in Ottawa". www.ottawapublichealth.ca. 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Ottawa in second wave of COVID-19 pandemic: Dr. Etches". Ottawa. 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Ontario Newsroom | Salle de presse de l'Ontario". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Saturday, Dec. 26 | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "COVID-19 restrictions ease in Ottawa, eastern Ontario following shutdown | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Ontario releases three-phase COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan with inoculations to begin on Tuesday". CP24. 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Health Canada approves AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "The Ottawa Hospital delivers first COVID-19 vaccination in Ottawa | The Ottawa Hospital". www.ottawahospital.on.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ a b "COVID-19 Vaccine". www.ottawapublichealth.ca. 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Every Ottawa resident could receive first dose of COVID-19 vaccine by summer, Ottawa Hospital CEO says". Ottawa. 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
- ^ Dept, Innovative Client Services (2021-03-09). "Vaccine distribution". ottawa.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ a b "Ottawa COVID-19 vaccine clinic opens at Queensway Carleton Hospital". Global News. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
- ^ "Ottawa's COVID-19 mass vaccination sites ready to open within 72 hours". Ottawa. 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "2020 year in review: A timeline of COVID-19 in Ottawa". Ottawa. 2020-12-31. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ^ "Coronavirus: 1st case of COVID-19 reported in Ottawa". Global News. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ^ "Long-term care residents can now receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in their homes". CTV Ottawa. 2021-01-05. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Back-to-school for Ottawa students delayed until Jan. 25". CTV Ottawa. 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Canadian Heritage cancels in-person Winterlude events due to COVID-19". CTV Ottawa. 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "COVID-19 outbreak at Valley Stream Retirement Residence claims four lives". CTV Ottawa. 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Ottawa schools will remain closed for in-person learning next week, Ontario government announces". CTV Ottawa. 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Ottawa bans sledding at Mooney's Bay Hill after large crowds gather at popular winter attraction". CTV Ottawa. 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Masks mandatory in Ottawa's enclosed public spaces, public transit until end of April". CTV Ottawa. 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "First doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in Ottawa will target retirement homes". CTV Ottawa. 2021-02-05. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Stay-at-home order for Ottawa extended by one week; Ends Wednesday in Kingston, Renfrew". CTV Ottawa. 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Ottawa sees its first case of South African COVID-19 variant". CTV Ottawa. 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Two Ottawa retirement home employees fired amid allegations of queue jumping for COVID-19 vaccine". CTV Ottawa. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Ottawa police officers to begin COVID-19 vaccinations Wednesday". CTV Ottawa. 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Ottawa residents 90 and older line up for mass COVID-19 vaccination clinicy". CTV Ottawa. 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Ottawa moving into COVID-19 red zone on Friday". CTV Ottawa. 2021-03-18. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ "Ottawa pharmacies prepare to begin administering COVID-19 vaccine as early as this weekend". CTV Ottawa. 2021-04-01. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- ^ "Four-week shutdown 'definitely needed' in Ottawa: What you need to know about the new rules". CTV Ottawa. 2021-04-01. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- ^ "These 'hot spots' getting vaccine priority are less hard-hit by COVID-19 than Ontario average". CBC Toronto. 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
- ^ "Ontario health minister denies political decision behind labelling Ottawa's K2V area a COVID-19 'hot spot'". CTV Ottawa. 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
- ^ "Ontario Enacts Provincial Emergency and Stay-at-Home Order". Government of Ontario. 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ "Ottawa police not conducting random stops under new Ontario powers to enforce stay-at-home order". CTV Ottawa. 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ "A look at the new COVID-19 restrictions in Ottawa". CTV Ottawa. 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ "Masks to become mandatory at Ottawa playgrounds starting Wednesday". CTV Ottawa. 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
- ^ "Three Ottawa councillors request 9 p.m. closing time for ward parks". CTV Ottawa. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
- ^ a b "Events cancelled in Ottawa, eastern Ontario and western Quebec due to COVID-19". Ottawa. 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- ^ "National museums closing until further notice due to COVID-19 concerns". Ottawa. 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
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