Mayor calls off state of emergency

After almost 16 months, Mayor Jim Watson has announced the end of a “state of emergency” in Ottawa as of 12:01 a.m. today.

“While the pandemic isn't quite over, this is an important milestone in our fight against COVID-19,” Watson posted on Twitter on Wednesday. The city declared the state of emergency on March 25, 2020.

Ending the state of emergency doesn't mean public health measures, such as the city's temporary mandatory mask bylaw, have been lifted.

Ontario guidelines under Step 3 of its reopening program also remain in effect.

The province reported 135 new confirmed cases of COVID -19 and four new deaths on Wednesday. Quebec reported 103 new cases, the first time in almost two weeks that the province's daily case count was above 100.

Meanwhile, Ottawa Public Health reported seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 27,752 cases since the pandemic began.

There were no new deaths, Ottawa Public Health added, leaving the total number at 593.

There were 25 active cases in the city, but no one was being treated in hospital or intensive care.

There were no ongoing outbreaks in health care, childcare or community settings.

Vaccination figures released Wednesday showed that 66 per cent of Ottawans aged 12 years or older, and 68 per cent of residents 18 years or older, were fully vaccinated with two shots.

For the entire population, including children under 12, for whom there is no approved vaccine yet, the vaccination rate was 58 per cent. About 72 per cent of all Ottawa residents had one vaccination.

The City of Ottawa and Ottawa Public Health are co-sponsoring a vaccine pop-up clinic with the Escapade Music Festival on Saturday. There will be live DJs and giveaways for people who show up to get vaccinated, especially those in their best festival outfits.

Earlier this week, Escapade announced that only fully-vaccinated patrons would be able to attend the electronic music festival, planned for Labour Day weekend. At the same time, local data shows that vaccination levels are lowest for the 20-something demographic.

About 70.3 per cent of Ottawa 20-to-29-year-olds have had at least one vaccination, compared to almost 89 per cent of those 50 to 59 and more than 94 per cent of those over 80.

Assuming a vaccination recipient gets a second shot 28 days after the first, and allowing two weeks for the effect of the second dose to kick in, it takes about six weeks to be fully vaccinated. Festivalgoers who haven't already been vaccinated will be on a tight schedule.

The pop-up clinic will be held inside at RCGT Park (Ottawa Baseball Stadium), 300 Coventry Rd., from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday. Free parking is available, and the clinic is within walking distance of Tremblay Station.

Virtual tickets to reserve spots are available online at escapademf. com/vaccination. Limited dropins will also be available at the popup while vaccine supplies last.

Ottawa Public Health has also issued a reminder that all residents 12 and older can be vaccinated at any pop-up clinic.