3 pop-up test sites opening Friday in Ottawa

Ottawa is getting three more COVID-19 test sites Friday to deal with intense demand, says a provincial cabinet minister.

On Thursday morning, Progressive ConservativeMPP Lisa MacLeodtweeted the city would get three pop-up test sites atlocations yet to be disclosed.

Ottawa Public Health said later that day two of the sites will be at schools for students and staff identified as a high-risk contact of a person that tested positive.

The other adds capacity at the testing site on Heron Road.

The number of people getting tested is at a record high, according to Ottawa health officials. For instance, the Queensway Carleton Hospital tweeted just after 11 a.m. thetest site on Moodie Drive it runs was at capacity.

Local health officials are asking thatonly people with symptoms or a referral from a contact tracer to go for a test.

Getting tested before going to a party is not going to help you, OPH says

4 years ago

Duration 0:47

Vera Etches, Ottawas medical officer of health, says testing should prioritize those who have symptoms or have been exposed to a positive case of COVID-19.

Ottawa Public Health's Thursday report adds 39 more people with a confirmed cases and 20 more whose cases are now considered resolved.

All but seven of the newly confirmed cases are people under age 40.

The active case count increased for the eighth straight report, up 19to 420. The last report with a drop was Sept. 9, when it was a total of 225.

Ottawa now has a total of 3,486 people who have tested positive, including 2,793 resolved and 273 people whose deaths have been linked to the respiratory illness.

The city's rolling five-day average of new cases per report inches closer to the all-time high of52.6 seen on April 29.

There are currently 12Ottawans in a city hospital with COVID-19, including onein intensive care.

The city'sworst current COVID-19 outbreak, at the West End Villa long-term care home, has risen slightly to 55 total cases.All but nine are residents.

The reports from OPH don't necessarily reflect how many people tested positive for COVID-19 on the day they're made public; rather, they indicate the number of new cases OPH is notified of as of 2 p.m. the previous day.

Ontario is reporting 293 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with the province saying gathering limits will be lowered in some areas. It has not shared specifics.

Quebec logged 251 more cases.