October 9 Newsletter 2020

October 9, 2020 newsletter from Rawlson King, City Councillor for Rideau-Rockcliffe.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

COVID-19 Update

Ottawa will be among Ontario regions entering “modified stage 2” on Saturday at midnight by order of the province.

At least a 28-day closure of: indoor dining at restaurants/bars, gyms, movie theatres, casinos and cinemas.

No team sports/scrimmages.

No wedding receptions as of Tuesday.

Seasonal Flu Update from Ottawa Public Health

If you don’t normally get a flu shot, get one this year.

OPH has received our vaccines and are in the midst of shipping them to providers including hospitals, long-term care homes and community immunization providers.  Pharmacies access vaccine directly from the province and are starting to receive them this week.

Typically, OPH directly provides more than 11,000 doses of influenza immunizations in Ottawa. The 2020 plan doubles this expected contribution.  Later this month, OPH will be offering three options for residents to receive their flu shot:

• OPH community clinics. To avoid crowding and control the flow of clients in and out of these locations, the clinics will be by appointment.
• Physicians and primary care providerswill be providing flu vaccine to their patients.
• Targeted immunization clinics for populations facing greater barriersin shelters, group homes, and other congregate settings where residents are not able to access universal clinics.

Pharmacies will also be providing the flu vaccine to Ottawa residents five years and older.

More information on these clinics, including the location of the OPH community clinics, are available on the OPH website. Visit OttawaPublicHealth.ca/Flu for this and other information on the flu including prevention, participating pharmacies and seasonal reports.

Thanksgiving Day schedule changes

Client services

• The 3-1-1 Contact Centre will be open for urgent matters that require the City’s immediate attention. Call 3-1-1 or 613-580-2400 (TTY: 613-580-2401) to speak to a customer service representative.

Green bin, recycling and garbage collection

• There will be no curbside green bin, recycling or garbage collection. Pickup will resume on Tuesday, October 13. Collection will be delayed by one day for the rest of the week.
• Multi-residential garbage containers will be collected on the regular scheduled day.
• Multi-residential recycling, green bin and bulky-item collection will be delayed by one day for the rest of the week.
• The Trail waste facility will be open from 9 am to 5 pm.

Parking and roads

• All City of Ottawa parking regulations and restrictions will apply on Thanksgiving Day.
• Free parking will be available at City Hall from Friday, October 9 at 6 pm until Tuesday, October 13 at 6 am.

Transit

• On Monday, October 12, OC Transpo bus and O-Train service will operate on a Sunday schedule.
• O-Train Line 1 will run from 8 am until 11 pm, and O-Train Line 2 replacement bus service will operate from 7:30 am until 11 pm.
• Use the OC Transpo Travel Planner to plan your trip.
• Masks or alternative face coverings are mandatory on buses and trains and inside stations and shelters. Help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Ottawa: don’t take public transit if you’re feeling sick, do a self-assessment before leaving home, use the hand sanitizer dispensers in select stations and always wash your hands thoroughly when you reach your destination.
• The OC Transpo Customer Service Centre at the Rideau Centre will be open from 10 am until 6 pm. All other OC Transpo Customer Service Centres continue to be closed until further notice.
• You can buy or load a Presto card:
  • Using Ticket machines at all O-Train Line 1 stations, O-Train Line 2 stations and the Ottawa International Airport
  • At Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws and Real Canadian Superstore locations
  • Via Prestocard.ca
  • By phone at 1-8-PRESTO-123 (1-877-378-6123)
  • By downloading the PRESTO app
• You can load your ParaPay account on parapay.octranspo.com or by calling 613-741-4390.
• OC Transpo Customer Service (613-741-4390) will be open from 7 am until 9 pm. Customers who are deaf or who have hearing loss can use the relay service offered by their service provider or call 711 with a TTY to contact OC Transpo. You can also visit our web site at www.octranspo.com. 
• You can plan Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) trips usingPlani-bus.

Para Transpo

• Para Transpo will operate a holiday service. Regularly scheduled trips for Monday, October 12, will be cancelled automatically. You can book trips for that day by calling 613-244-7272 or by using the onlinebooking system.
• Masks or other face coverings are mandatory on Para Transpo vehicles. Please do a self- assessment before you leave home and don’t take Para Transpo if you are sick.
• Para Transpo operations:
  • The reservations line (613-244-7272) will be open from 7 am until 5 pm.
  • The trip cancellation and general inquiries line (613-244-4636) will be open from 6 am until midnight.
  • The Taxi Coupons line (613-842-3670) will be closed.

Recreation services

• Some indoor and outdoor pools will be open for public swimming, with modified schedules.
• Some weight and cardio rooms with be open with modified schedules.
• Most registered programs will be cancelled. Check with your facility to confirm as some exceptions will apply.

Ottawa Public Health

Assessment Centre and Care Clinics:

• The Moodie Care Clinic will be open during regular hours, from 9 am until 3:30 pm.
• The Heron Care Clinic will be open during regular hours, from 9 am until 3:30 pm.
• The Brewer Assessment Centre will be open during regular hours, from 8:30 am to 7:30 pm
• CHEO Assessment Centre at Brewer will be open during regular hours, from 8:30 am to 7:30 pm
• The COVID-19 Drive-thru Assessment Centre on Coventry Road will be will be closed on Monday, October 12.
• The COVID Care Clinic at Ray Friel Complex in Orléans is not open.
• The Sexual Health Clinic and satellite clinics will be closed.
• The Site program office and supervised consumption services at 179 Clarence Street will be closed. The Site mobile van will operate from 5 pm until 11:30 pm.
• The Ottawa Public Health Information Centre will be closed for general calls.
• Ottawa Public Health’s COVID-19 phone line at 613-580-6744 will be open from 9 am until 4 pm.
• Dental clinics will be closed.
• The baby help line will be closed.

Cultural services

• The Karsh-Masson Gallery, Barbara Ann Scott Gallery and the City Hall Art Gallery at City Hall will remain closed.
• City of Ottawa arts centres, galleries, theatres and museums will remain closed.

Archives services

• The City of Ottawa Archives Reference Services and Gallery 112 will remain closed.

Municipal child care

• All Municipal Child-Care centres will be closed.

Library Services

All Ottawa Public Library branches will be closed.

COVID-19 Workplace/Post-Secondary Online Screening Tool

OPH has developed a new online screening tool to help employees and college/university students decide whether they should go into work or school that day. The intention is for daily completion prior to leaving the house. No personal information is requested when completing the tool, which means that participants cannot be personally identified or linked to their responses. While using this tool is voluntary, it is highly recommended by OPH. By completing the screening tool employees and students are self-assessing for symptoms that, if identified, could lead the individual to isolate and get tested instead of entering the workplace/classroom and risking transmission.

In order to bend the curve, we all need to do our part by staying COVIDWise. The I in COVIDWise stands for: Isolate yourself from others when you are sick (and get tested promptly if you have COVID-like symptoms). OPH’s screening tool for employees and post-secondary students helps identify COVID-19 symptoms so that participants can isolate and reduce the risk of transmission. OPH encourages Members of Council to share the new screening tool and web pages with local businesses, encouraging them to share it with their staff, and on social media to capture the interest of post-secondary students. OPH thanks you for helping share this tool with the community.

COVID-19 Guidance for Return to Play Sports, Recreation and Fitness

OPH has developed new guidelines to support recreation facilities and sports organizers with re-opening their activities as safely as possible while COVID-19 is still in our community. Some of these guidelines include:

• Having sports organizations operating in the area complete the COVID-19 Guidance for Return to Play Sports, Recreation and Fitness Template and Checklist (more details below).
• Wherever possible, activities should be re-located to outdoor settings.
• Consideration should be given on how to appropriately include or accommodate individuals at increased risk for COVID-19 such as older adults, and persons with compromised immune systems.
• Discouraging cheering, chanting, singing and yelling at all sport, fitness and recreational events. These activities present a high risk of spreading droplets.
• Prior to arrival, any person participating in a fitness class, sport or activity – including staff, volunteers, and participants – should be directed to perform a COVID-19 Self-Assessment.
• Wearing a mask when indoors, except for when:
  • receiving services that require the removal of the mask;
  • actively engaging in an athletic or fitness activity including water-based activities, and lifeguards working at indoor pools; and
  • consuming food or drink; or an emergency or medical purpose.
• Maintaining physical distance of at least 2 metres including inside the lobby, change rooms, hallways, and while off the field of play (player’s bench, bleachers, etc.).
• Making hand sanitizer available at all entrances and exits.
• Adhering to gathering limits.

OPH has created a template and checklist based on the above guidelines to help service providers (e.g. community agencies, recreation facilities, sports groups, fitness centres, businesses, etc.) in preparing their facility/sports activity to reopen. Completing the template and checklist is not mandatory and does not have to be submitted to the City, however, completing it is encouraged by OPH. By completing this template, facilities and sports organizers are doing their part to put public health measures in place, keeping the health and safety of employees, clients and the community in mind.

Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving arriving next weekend, it is important to recognize that the holidays are going to look and feel different during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Residents who plan on celebrating Thanksgiving should stay local, keep gatherings as small as possible, and connect with extended family and friends virtually, instead of in person.

A variety of factors can increase the risk of serious illness from COVID-19. Although current provincial guidance allows for up to 10 people indoors, and 25 outdoors, due to the extent of COVID-19 transmission in Ottawa, OPH recommends limiting gatherings to people we live with and one or two people who support us.

Halloween

OPH advises community officials not to host or encourage Halloween parties or gatherings this year. We understand that this is a disappointment to many, and we thank the members of the community for their understanding. OPH encourages different community events such as online Halloween home decorating or costume contests.

OPH is awaiting provincial guidance before proceeding with further advice related to ‘trick or treating’.

Operation Mask Up

OC Transpo will carry out “Operation Mask Up” from October 9 to 23 to help change the behavior of the small number of customers failing to comply with OC Transpo’s mandatory mask policy.

During Operation Mask Up, OC Transpo Special Constables will travel across the transit system and talk to those customers not wearing a mask to remind them of the requirement. Customers not complying with the policy will be issued a written warning under the mask By-law and will be provided with a disposable mask. Remember to be COVID Kind: young children and customers with a disability or medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask are exempt and will not be issued a warning. Not all disabilities or conditions are obvious. For customers not wearing masks correctly, Special Constables will advise on proper mask wearing practices.

Customers are reminded not to approach or engage other customers who are not wearing a mask.

By following Ottawa Public Health guidelines—including wearing a mask in enclosed public spaces—you’re helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep our whole community safer. Thank you!

For more about Operation Mask Up, visit https://www.octranspo.com/en/news/article/operation-mask-up/

Tremblant’s 24h

Tremblant’s 24h is a charity event under the auspices of Fondation 24h Tremblant. This major event features sporting challenges in which participants raise funds for children’s causes. Tremblant’s 24h counts on the support of thousands of donors each year and has remitted over $36 million toward children’s causes since 2001. The 20th edition will take place December 4 to 6, 2020, and funds will be distributed to the CHEO Foundation, Fondation Charles-Bruneau, and Fondation Tremblant.

Information and registration: www.24htremblant.com